Sixteen
by beanscene
Summary: Max transfers to Blackwell Acadamy when she is sixteen and high school drama gets in the way of her trying to be happy. Prepare for angst, feels, and unnecessary partying to numb all of the pain. Themes include: mutual pinning, internalized homophobia, drama, and alcohol abuse. Eventual smut. Prepare your tissues. Things get way bad, before they improve.
1. Chapter 1: Eyes Up

A/N: I have writer's block for my other fic, so I wrote this to get the creative juices flowing. Will update soon. Please enjoy.

-beanie

Maxine Caulfield couldn't stand confrontation. They always resulted in her anxiety skyrocketing, which only amplified her surface insecurities. Due to her own introverted tendencies, she already had a hard time socializing when it was demanded of her throughout the week. The only select few that the brunette did care to socialize with was her best friend, Warren, and her recently new friend, Kate. It wasn't as bad, though. With minimal effort, she could exchange pleasantries with both classmates and teachers so long as they kept the conversation simple. Since she was a child, though, her parents always prioritized her education. Sure she had a social life, but it was limited to her childhood best friend, Chloe. They did everything together, up until Chole's father died and she had to leave Arcadia Bay for Seattle. As heartbreaking as it was, she never reached out and neither did Chloe. Plus, her advanced classes consumed all of her attention and energy, while everything else faded into the background. She did think of Chloe often, but became filled with anxiety and guilt whenever she thought about the amount of time that has passed and ultimately never reached out. The same psychology was used when it came to shopping for new clothes, contemplating a new haircut, or even deciding on a genre of film. The fear of time lost and abrupt change ruled her life. It wasn't until the summer of transferring to Blackwell for her sophomore year did she decide on something new for herself—Max, never Maxine. A simple change to help segway to her new lifestyle. The brunette always preferred to be called Max anyway, but seldomly vocalized it whenever people addressed her.

However, regardless of how optimistic Max was about being at Blackwell, all of that changed when she met Victoria Chase. For reasons beyond her knowledge, the lithe blonde has had it out for her since their first class together. The photography program offered at Blackwell is one of the best in the country, it's even spearheaded by the famous Mark Jefferson, which happens to be the very reason Max decided to return to Arcadia Bay. After class had begun, rather than introducing each other by name, Jefferson had students bring in one of their photos to explain to the class. Going in alphabetical order, one-by-one students went to the front of the class to explain their work. No one had anything mind-blowing, but Jefferson pointed out the unique differences each student had and gave them positive feedback. When her turn finally came around, Max brought up a photo she took of an older couple overlooking the Grand Canyon. Although they weren't the main focus of the picture, the eye was instantly drawn to them. The brunette introduced herself and explained that while she was on vacation with her family to the historic destination, she spotted the couple and just wanted to capture their happiness. Of course after asking for their permission, she snapped the photo with her Polaroid and continued on with her vacation. To her surprise, Jefferson seemed to be way more impressed by the young photographer's work and gave her praises instead of constructive feedback. The entire interaction embarrassed Max to the point that by the time she had taken her seat, the tips of her ears and entire face were completely flushed. She heard a scoff to her right, and looked up in time to meet the burning gaze of a classmate. The girl went up next and introduced herself as Victoria Chase. Max couldn't put her finger on it, but the way she carried herself made her feel uneasy, and the occasional condescending glances from the blonde didn't help her any. After presenting her photograph, which was a beautiful shot of a murder of crows swarming an old carcass, Jefferson gave her high praises as well. He even slipped in a joke about how their talent is on par despite their opposing themes, and they should compete. The class chuckled, but Victoria's mouth twitched into smile. After class had ended, Victoria bumped into the brunette on her way out and spat 'eye's up Lamefield,' before breezing past. Max couldn't hear the scattered laughs over her own internal cries. Her first day at a new school kicked off with her being bullied. All she could do was hope it was a one time thing.

As unfortunate as it was, the bullying continued at the behest of Victoria Chase and her minions. Today it was gossiping about Max's poorly coordinated ensemble she decided to wear to class. I can't help that I don't care about whether or not my socks match, the brunette thought to herself as she desperately tried to focus her attention on Jefferson's lecture on the importance of composition. But, she she already knew about composition, exposure, and all of the basics. Max decided she might give more of her attention to lectures when Jefferson finally discussed material she hasn't studied, yet. As endless as it felt, photography class finally ended marking the first month of classes complete. Thank God it's finally Friday, Max hummed to herself as she headed to her locker. The brunette awkwardly shifted her books into her arms and used a free hand to put in the combination. She lifted the latch to pull open the door, and felt it instantly slam shut locking itself back in place.

"What the hell?"

Max looked up more shocked than outraged, in time to see Victoria standing over her with a cruel smirk on her painted lips. The brunette's eyes hovered over mouth for moment, before meeting the tall blonde's gaze.

"Shit," she mused, "I didn't know you had such a dirty fucking mouth, Lamefield."

Max felt her face heat up, as she caught the amused stares from Courtney and Taylor. She opened her mouth to speak, but her words failed her, leaving her standing in front of Victoria with her mouth hanging open like an idiot. Well played, Caufield, she chastised herself.

"Why is she just standing there with her mouth open?" Taylor asked with a muffled laugh.

"Y-yeah, she looks just like a seal," Courtney added with a giggle.

"A seal, huh?" Victoria's eyes roamed over the brunette's small frame, before setting her jade irises on Max's, "So, what's it going to be, Shitfield? Are you gonna bark for us if I throw some fish into your mouth?" Her smile broadened to reveal a set of perfect teeth.

Max felt her confidence retreating into it self as the warmth in her face spread throughout her body. "I-I…" she stuttered. God, why can't I say anything? It's no wonder Victoria treats me like shit!

"M-Max? Is everything a-alright here?"

The brunette spun around to see her friend Kate Marsh, standing awkwardly with her backpack straps clenched tightly in her small hands. Despite her timid appearance, Kate's hazel eyes flickered with apprehensive confidence. All Max could do was nod idly. Her mouth was still open.

Victoria let out crude chuckle as she walked past, leaving the subtle hint of gardenias trailing in her midst. "Wouldn't you like to know, Jesus Freak? Don't worry, I was just dropping this off," with that Victoria flicked a photograph and her hoodie. "We have more important shit to do anyways, than be seen with you losers. Let's go girls."

And as quickly as it has begun, Victoria and her crew were already down the hall. Max was stunned by the events, but was brought out of trance by Kate putting the photograph in her hands.

"Why is she so cruel all of the time? I don't get it," the dirty blonde sighed with a slight shake of her head.

Max looked at the photo, and realized it was one she took a few weeks back. It wasn't a selfie like most of her others, but it was a landscape photo that capture people dancing under sky lanterns. She flipped the photo over with furrowed brows. My name isn't on here anywhere, Max thought, so how did she know it was mine? As sad as Max is to admit it, she isn't the only student at Blackwell to use analog cameras. There are plenty of art students there that use them, as well. But, how did she know? Max almost drifted off into another day dream, until Kate suggested they eat lunch together.

The rest of the day carried on without a hitch, and by the time Max decided to head back to her room the sun was already going down. She lightly stretched her back and rubbed her shoulders in deep thought about the hot shower her aching muscles desperately needed. All of the stress from her advanced classes and sideline bullying, courtesy of the Vortex Club, was really doing a number on the brunette's nervous system. Because, I'm so nervous all of the time, get it? She chuckled to herself. Max Caufield knocks 'em dead with another zinger, she released another chuckle as she walked up to the dorm entrance.

"What's so funny this time, loser?"

Max almost gave herself whiplash in the way she snapped her attention up to meet the mischievous gaze of her classmate. As if they're getting paid for it, Courtney and Taylor respond with unnecessary laughter. She nervously gripped the strap of her messenger bag.

"N-nothing, Victoria," she responded, barely above a whisper. Way to stick it to the man, Max. The brunette inwardly groaned.

"So she can speak," Victoria said coolly. In a controlled motion, she shifted her weight on the concrete and smoothed the lines on her mini skirt. Her heels began idly tapping the ground. "So, if you can answer this question you can go past. That sounds fair, right?"

Max avoided her gaze by looking at the bushes to her left. She felt her heart rate accelerate. "Yeah," she answered simply. Nothing about this shit is fair, and you know it.

A smile appeared on the blonde's lips, "Excellent," she said. After tapping her chin momentarily to express deep thought, she spoke up. Why am I such a 'hipster loser?' Why do I fall asleep in class? Why am I so pathetic and plain? The possibilities flooded the photographer's mind until Victoria asked, "Why do always wear a hoodie?"

Max and the henchmen looked to Victoria with the same look of surprise on their faces.

"What? Are you going to answer the fucking question? Jesus, that hoodie's disgusting and you wear it too much." Victoria gave challenging glares to her companions who refocused their attention on the mousy teen standing before them.

"Um," Max opened.

Why do you even care?

"I-I get cold pretty easily, so I always make sure t-to bring one."

Why ask if you don't care?

When Max finally met Victoria's gaze, she could tell that she was actually listening and took in what she had said. What? This doesn't make any sense. Max could feel her palms begin to sweat, as her anxiety steadily increased.

"I guess that's good enough," the blonde mused, "go ahead before I change my mind, fucking hipster." With that she stood up and slightly stepped to the side. Max didn't say anything. She couldn't bring herself to make any noise as she walked past Victoria's towering slender form. Gardenias, the brunette thought as she pushed past the double doors. I never realized how much I've loved the smell of gardenias…

Aside from a few noteworthy glares and snappy commentary from Victoria highlighting Max's classroom misfortunes, several days went by without incident. The brunette was beginning to really feel comfortable with her larger workload, and has grown accustomed to studying with either Warren or Kate, depending on their free time. Even though she had been a student at Blackwell for a little over a month now, Max had yet to actually go out and have fun. She hasn't even reconnected with Chloe to apologize for all of the missed time. Only three years may have passed since they've seen each other, but from thirteen to sixteen a lot has happened to shape the brunette into the person she is today, and she was pretty sure the same thing happened to her childhood best friend. An apprehensive sigh escaped the photographer's lips as she noticed Courtney, the nicer henchman of the duo, sitting behind a table with the Vortex Club's emblem sewn into the table cloth. There was a sign-up sheet carefully placed in the center of the table with ball-point pens stacked in a neat row following the edge the paper.

"Go away," the dark haired teen huffed. She addressed Max without glancing up from her phone once.

Millennials, she tittered inwardly.

"Hey, Courtney, is there a party coming up?"

She finally glanced up from her phone and placed it in her lap.

"Why do you care? Vortex Club members don't like you so…" Courtney trailed off giving the brunette an expectant look.

"Well, Victoria doesn't like me, but I"m actually on good terms with some of the other members—"

"I actually have other things to do besides talking to you all day, Ma—Lamefield, so why don't you get to the point?" Courtney's words may have been cruel, but they didn't harbor the same bite that was added whenever Victoria addressed her. For the first time in a while, Max wasn't a nervous mess.

"Yeah, I know Arcadia Bay doesn't have much going on besides the beach, and I heard that Vortex Club parties offer the best entertainment."

From that single statement, Courtney's demonor went from standoffish to welcoming. In fact the shift was so unexpected that Max felt physically taken aback by the sudden change.

"Well, whoever told you that is correct," she said with a bright smile, "Our parties are the best in town. But," manicured eyebrows furrowed as deep mahogany eyes walked the short teen's frame. Max shifted uncomfortably and clutched at her bag.

"But?"

"Well, you can't attend one of our parties dressed like that, Max," Courtney guestered at her clothes accusingly to emphasize her point.

Wait, did she just call me Max? I-Is Courtney secretly nice?

"Y-Yeah, um, do you have any tips to give me on what to wear or—?"

"I can totally give you some tips!" The dark haired teen chirped happily, "In fact, stop by my room Friday night before the party and I'll help give you a makeover!"

"Oh? Okay—yeah!" Max parroted Courtney's chipper tone. It was hard to not respond to such a bubbly personality. Bubbly? I never thought I'd use that word describing one of Victoria's henchmen. But, what about… "What about Taylor? Is she going to have a problem with me being over there?"

Courtney waved a polished hand dismissively, "Don't worry about Taylor, she probably won't be there anyway." She momentarily paused. "You know you're not as bad as I thought you were, Lamefield." Courtney joked with a smiled.

"Yeah," Max said while awkwardly reciprocating the gesture.

"Oh, wait! Before I forget," Courtney pushed the sign-up sheet up towards the brunette. The sheet was already full, but Max was able to scrawl her name in a tiny space at the bottom of the page. "Cool, I'll see you later!" They exchanged farewells and Max headed to her next class.

Only one more day until the party, Max thought. She didn't really know why, but the anticipation of the year's first Vortex party was starting to get to her. Sure she was nervous, but it was an exciting nervous. Up until now, Max hasn't been able to just hangout with her peers and cut loose. Embarrassingly enough, the brunette wagers it's been around a year since she's gone out for herself.

With lunch marking the midpoint of the day, Max puts her things in her locker and sets out to meet Warren near the entrance. Apparently he had something 'uber cool' to tell her that couldn't wait until the end of the day. What could be so pressing that it meant having to cancel on lunch with Kate? Once outside, Max scanned the grounds for Warren, but didn't see him anywhere. The only people she did see were Vortex Club jocks, Zach and Logan, tossing a football in the courtyard.

"Hey, Zach, tossing the ol' pigskin huh? So, um have you seen Warren since you've been out here?" The brunette asked trying to come off as nonchalant as possible.

"Yikes, Caulfield. And you mean War Turd?" Zach quipped.

"Good one, bro!" Logan called out after throwing an impressive spiral.

War Turd? Come on, guys. Even I can do better than that.

"Yeah, War...Turd. Look if you haven't seen him that's cool," Max said, trying to suppress the irritation in her voice.

Zach caught the football and immediately launched it back into the air with smooth toss. After his companion caught the ball with an over exaggerated grunt, Zach made a "T" with his hands signaling for Logan to pause their game. He tossed the bangs from his face and turned to face the brunette.

"Nah, I haven't seen War Turd, but I've actually been meaning to ask you something, Caufield."

"W-What exactly would that be?" Max tried to hide her look of confusion, but realized she failed when she noticed Zach put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Her body stiffened

"There's no need for that concerned face, Caufield, I just wanted to know if you were going to the party tomorrow night?"

No, he can't be…

"You mean the Vortex Club party that's being hosted?" She clarified with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, I wanted to know if you wanna go together."

And there it is, folks. Proof that there is, indeed, snow in hell.

"What? Why do you want to go to the party with me? I mean seriously, like, this is the longest we've ever held a conversation."

The solid jock released a dismissive scoff, "None of that even matters. You know it's like that saying, 'better late, than never' right?"

"I guess?"

"So, does that mean you'll go with me, then?"

This is all happening too fast.

"Um, sure?"

"Awesome! Don't worry about exchanging numbers, I already have yours."

"Wait, how do you already have my num—?"

Before Max could finish her sentence, Warren finally appeared from the horizon and Zach had already resumed his game with Logan as if she was never there. Rather than stressing herself out by over complicating things, the brunette simply chalked it up to being another confusing interaction that made her day more interesting than anything. As long as she had no more run ins with her blonde nemesis, Max counted the day as a win. Small victories, Max. Just hold on to those small victories. Without really realizing it, Max had drifted off into yet another day dream and was completely caught off guard to see that she had followed Warren to the nearby park on campus.

"D-Did you hear me, Max?" Warren asked, he looked more concerned than she last remembered.

Dammit, I completely spaced. Ugh, 'eyes up, Lamefield.' Victoria's voice rang through her head. No wonder she picks on you, idiot.

"I'm sorry Warren, I didn't hear you."

He chuckled nervously and looked down, "What I said was, um if you're interested—do you, I mean, would you like to go to that party the Vortex Club is throwing? I mean, g-go together?"

She noticed that his face was uncharacteristically red. Almost too red, she thought. And why does he appear to be sweating? Seriously, what the hell is going on today?

All Max could do was vacantly stare at him, while her mind went off on another journey to figure out why the hell her day was so odd. Who's next, Victoria? She snorted inwardly. Yeah right, my luck isn't that good. Her eyes widened. Wait, what?

"Max," Warren's voice shortened her internal sabbatical once more. "I said—"

"I can't," she blurted out unintentionally, "I already agreed to go with Zach, but we can go as friends."

After Max explained to Warren how he was literally a minute too late, he decided to call their lunch meet short and offered to walk her the cafeteria. The brunette declined stating that she wanted to get a head start on the homework she had amassed from that morning. Warren gave a forced smile and they went their separate ways. Max didn't really feel like processing the interaction, since it all happened so abruptly, so she pushed it to the recesses of her mind and carried out the rest of her day in a relatively good mood.

Friday evening came sooner than expected, and before Max knew it she was standing before Courtney's door. After three reinforced knocks, Taylor opened the door and simply motioned her inside.

"Lamefield's here," she stated lacklusterly.

Courtney appeared from behind her closet and greeted Max with a friendly smile. And surprisingly enough, the experience was very enjoyable. She couldn't believe it, but without Victoria around, Taylor and Courtney didn't seem to mind Max in the slightest. In fact, they all got along pretty well. Taylor made light small talk while putting her own outfit together and Courtney, having already finished coordinating her outfit, focused solely on Max. She delivered on her offer and then some, by doing a stellar job with Max's hair and subtle touches of makeup (which only consisted of eyeliner and light blush). She also gave the brunette a cute top to wear. Apparently, it was too tight around the chest for Courtney, but it fit her perfectly. I knew these little guys would make me proud one of these days, Max thought to herself with a reassuring grin. By the time Courtney was finished with her Max felt like one of the cool kids and it felt good.

Zach had texted her the night prior asking if 7:30 PM was a decent time for them to meet up in front of the girls' dorm. So not wasting any time, Max headed outside to meet Zach so they could ride to the party together. Initially, things felt a bit stiff between the two, but Zach was surprisingly cordial to Max the entire ride that by the time they reached the party, they were conversing casually with no problem. Probably through financial influence from the Prescott family, the party was able to rent out a large convention room at a five star hotel located across town. One of the first things that Max noticed upon entering, was how crowded the party was already. It was only 8:00 PM, but a lot of people were already drunk enough to knock over drinks and start removing their clothes from overheating. Zach placed a supportive hand on the small of Max's back causing her to slightly wince.

"Sorry," she yell above the loud music, "I'm technically a noob when it comes to large crowds."

Zach took a second to register what she had said, but gave an A-OK sign with his hand to affirm that he understood.

"How about some place less crowded?" He yelled back, pointing over to the VIP section in the far back.

She wasn't sure if she would be allowed in since she only signed up for general admission to the party, but was willing to try anything at this point. Max didn't think that she would feel so overwhelmed after just arriving at the party. Maybe I should get a drink, too. For relaxing or whatever, she concluded. The quarterback led her towards the far end of the room where another table was set up in front of a wall of dark curtains. It was a bit much, but even the brunette had to admit that the Vortex Club excels in leaving an impression. Zach leaned over the table to speak the girl Max assumed was in charge of VIP access. After they exchanged a few words, he turned back noticeably upset.

"What's wrong?"

"This bitch won't let you in. Don't worry, I'll handle this," The quarterback stepped away from Max and pulled out his phone and began typing rapidly.

Max didn't know that her date was quick to anger, but concluded that if they're roles were switched she probably would have reacted the same way, too. The brunette tried giving the girl at the table a friendly smile, but was greeted with a sneer. Man, she is a bitch.

A minute later, Courtney stumbled from the dark curtains with an exaggerated frown. Is everyone here trashed? Their conversation was inaudible, but after a few accusatory fingers from Courtney and the girl desperately gesturing towards the list and putting her hands up in defense, Courtney turned to the pair and motioned them back. As they passed through, the quarterback told the girl to 'get fucked' and Max just looked at her and offered a mischievous smirk of her own.

"Sorry about that!" Courtney yelled in the brunette's ear.

Yeah, she's definitely drunk.

"Don't worry about it, Courtney! I just appreciate you getting me in," Max gave the dark haired teen an awkward handshake. Courtney just laughed.

"Dude, you're hilarious! I have no idea why Victoria hates you so much. Also, that four-eyed wannabe is just a Vortex Club candidate. She would have been fine if she wasn't such a bitch. But, anyway, enjoy yourself, Max!" Courtney shook Max's hand again with a boisterous laugh and began shimmying towards Taylor who offered her finger guns and a drunk smile.

The brunette was besides herself with amusement as she laughed at the pair's comedy routine. Those two really aren't that bad, either, Max mused in deep thought. The quarterback appeared by her side offering her a drink in a plastic chalice. Max pointed at the dark fluid with an upturned brow.

"Malibu Rum. Don't worry, it's actually pretty good after the first few bottles," Zach said with a laugh. He quickly downed the dark liquor and turned to the brunette urging her to drink hers with motioned hands.

When in Rome, do the Romans. I think that's the saying, Max thought as she shrugged and down her cup.

"Woah! Who knew Caulfield was badass?" The quarterback laughed and began patting her back. The dark liquid burned all the way to her stomach as she coughed up, but Max had to admit that it made her feel considerably more relaxed.

"I'm all loosey goosey, finally!" The brunette slurred with a crooked smile. Zach gave her a hug between laughs. Her body stiffened under the touch, but it was over before he could notice.

"I'm going to get more!" Zach yelled as he motioned over to the bar.

"I'll be sitting over here, then!" She pointed to an area of loveseats and recliners facing a wide screen plasma TV. Man, they really pulled out all the stops with this party, Max thought as plopped onto a love seat. Ooh, it's so cushy, too! She began lightly bouncing when she noticed a pair of manicured toes in laced stilettos.

"What the fuck are you even doing here, loser?"

Max followed the slender legs up to meet the piercing glare of her blonde nemesis. After all of the progress she had made with speaking up for herself, she was once again at a loss for words. Rather than attempting to speak, Max just let her eyes crawl back down Victoria's shapely form.

Why is she so fucking beautiful? Her lips parted.

Victoria wore a black mini dress with a solid white stripe going down left side. The brunettes invading blue eyes roamed over her slender hands. I never noticed how many rings she wore. Her attention trailed up to her slender neck, where a thin chained pendant dipped into her cleavage. I wish I was that necklace, Max thought as she moistened her lips. Wait, what the hell am I even thinking? Victoria's incessant snapping brought from her own thoughts.

"Woah, why the hell are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my dress?" Victoria began frantically searching her body, "I fucking told Taylor I didn't want one of her famous Boogie Brownies. Fuck," the blonde noticed a small brown smudge on the white strip of her dress and began frantically scrubbing it off.

"Here, let me help," Max offered as she languidly pulled herself up.

"Don't even think about it, hipster," Victoria huffed, but she was so engrossed with chipping away at the stain that she didn't notice when the brunette had closed the small distance between them. After a few more frustrated groans her arms dropped to her side.

"Just let me," Max didn't finish her sentence, and just licked the tip of her thumb and gently rubbed at the stain.

She noticed that Victoria's breathing sounded weird and realized that she was very close to touching her breast. If her face wasn't flushed before, it definitely was now. The shock caused her to just stand straight up from where she was causing her to lose balance. Without a moment's hesitation, Victoria's hand reached out and grasped the brunette's lower back pulling her close to prevent her from falling. Max's heart rate skyrocketed as they locked eyes. The music seemed to drone into a muffled hum as time around her seemed to all but stop. Victoria's eyes were definitely something to behold. Even though the only source of light came from neon signs hung along the walls, the brunette could almost swear that she noticed something in Victoria's eyes that she hasn't before. But, she couldn't focus on that right now. All she could focus on was capturing this up-close view of this woman's beauty.

That's right, she's a woman. She's definitely has the beauty of a woman.

Max drank in her alluring scent and slowly bit her lip. Victoria licked hers. Jade irises bounced from the brunette's eyes to her lips. Max felt herself melt as the pit of her stomach ignited. But, a sudden intrusion penetrated their timeless cocoon.

"Hey, there ya are Caulfield!" Zach stumbled over to the pair with another round in his hands. It was evident that he had a few more drinks before coming over. "I thought you might 'f you know, like, disappeared or somef'in." He placed the plastic chalice in her hand.

"Um, thanks," Max offered. Her entire body was on fire.

She looked over to Victoria who avoided eye contact with her, instead she engaged her date.

"Zach, why the fuck is she here? She's not a Vortex Club member," Victoria asked. The venom usually present in her tone gone by the wayside. She pointed an accusatory finger in Max's direction without directly making eye contact. Max could tell that after their encounter she seemed off.

"Victoria, dude, that's all on your girl Courtney. She was the one who cleared Caulfield to come in. You should go bitch at her," Zach slurred with a laugh. He dropped his weight on a nearby loveseat.

The blonde's face twisted with anger, "Since when were interested in that hipster loser, anyway? I've never heard you express any sort of attraction towards her, like, ever. You know what? Whatever."

As Max downed her second cup of rum, she caught the glare Victoria shot her before leaving. She licked her lips in satisfaction as the dark fluid burned its way down. It's not as back the second time, she thought with a muffled cough. Zach leaned forward grabbing her arm to pull her down next to him onto the love seat. The gesture caught her off guard, but her body wasn't reacting properly and she just slumped into the seat next to him.

"You know, you're pretty hot, Caulfield," Zach mumbled.

A calloused hand rubbed up her arm and he moved in closer. Max felt her body stiffen on contact. It didn't matter how inebriated she'd become, she knew she didn't want this, but her body was still unresponsive to his advances. He pulled her into his chest and lifted her thigh, so he could place a hand on her inner thigh. Max knew her body betrayed her when she was unable to keep him from prying open her legs.

"Stop," she gasped. His hand stroked along inside of her thigh, while his other arm was stretched around her torso and stroking the edges of her breast.

I don't want this.

She smelled tobacco when he placed a calloused finger on her lips to silence her. "Let's stop playing around," he whispered as he pulled an earlobe into his mouth. Max whimpered as she felt tears welling in her eyes. "I bet my boys that I'd get some action at this party, so that's what I'm going to do. If you didn't want it, too, then why agree to come here with me?"

He smiled at her shuddered reaction and started to kiss down her neck. Max didn't know if it was from sheer luck or an unknown spiritual guardian, but at that moment she had conjured enough strength to lift Zach from her body and get his attention.

"No!" She cried, "I don't want this! I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression," tears began flowing down her cheeks, "Please I just want to go home, now."

Zach stared at her with empty eyes, before responding, "Well, that's too bad. You're not going home," Max's eyes widened in horror as he leaned in and claimed her mouth for his own with a forceful kiss.

He jammed a tobacco stained tongue into her mouth while forcefully groping at her body. Max felt all of the strength drain from her body as she flailed beneath him sobbing meekly. Then, she suddenly felt his weight being removed from him in a snapped instant. The brunette's squinted open in time to see Victoria pushing Zach onto the ground and kicking him. Her face was contorted with anger as she yelled at him with each blow. Max couldn't process anything going on around her, all she could do was watch in pure shock and awe as her enemy, the person who made a point to make Max's high school life a living hell, relentlessly beat the man who just tried to rape her into the ground. There were truly no words. She gasped when she saw Zach push her away, spring to his feet, and lift the blonde's body effortlessly and slamming it into the wall behind her. Victoria's eyes clenched shut in pain upon impact and Zach held her against the wall with a sturdy grip around her neck.

"God, no," Max whimpered weakly as she dragged her body off the couch.

The moment she was on her feet, her legs gave in sending her plummeting to the hardwood floor beneath. In the moment all she was able to do was look up to see Victoria getting choked out by Zach. More tears escaped her eyes, but then she noticed another person running to pull Zach away. It was Courtney, and Taylor came not too far beyond. Max saw them yelling for the quarterback to release Victoria, but all he did was turn and push them away. In that moment, the blonde took the opportunity to kick him between the legs. Zach screamed in pain and his grip loosened to use his free hand to massage his tender groin. She finally slid to the ground and when Zach lunged at her again, she head butted him in the throat. He clasped at his throat as he fell, shattering the glass table beneath him. By that time, more people had arrived and circled around the now unconscious quarterback. Max watched from the ground, as Victoria pushed past Courtney and Taylor and rushed to her side. She knelt down and carefully helped the brunette on the loveseat. Don't look at me like that, Max thought to herself as she felt her strength break away. She fell into Victoria and began sobbing uncontrollably. Shaking palms placed themselves gently on her back and began moving in soft circular motions.

"I'm sorry," Victoria whispered.

Moments later, Courtney and Taylor had rushed over after talking to hotel security. Apparently, the Prescott's didn't want the police involved and just had Zach removed from the party. Max doesn't remember much from there, aside from the flashes of a slender figure placing her in her bed. The next morning when Max woke up, she was greeted by jarring migraine and a dry throat.

"I hope you slept well."

Max prompted herself up to see Kate Marsh sitting at her side with gentle smile.

"Hey," Max groaned, "What the hell happened to me last night?"


	2. Chapter 2: Consequences of the Rain

A/N: Hey, guys updates will be altering between this one and Unfeigned. I'll do two chapters of Sixteen, then one of Unfeigned (these chapters usually twice as long). I love the feedback I've received so far, it's definitely inspiring!

XXX

As Kate recounted the events of last night to Max, she couldn't help but feel completely overwhelmed. She didn't remember everything from the party, but she could recall important details. Like, Zach bringing her alcohol and she casually accepting. Zach robbing her of her first kiss and trying to force himself onto her. Most importantly, she remembered...Victoria saving her. What she didn't remember was how she got to her room, already tucked in with her shoes and socks placed neatly underneath her bed. Even when completely sober, Max Caulfield didn't tidy up anything. It was always Kate who insisted that she "gets off her keester" and clean the place up.

"If it wasn't you, then who helped me back to my room?" Max applied soft pressure to her temples to alleviate her throbbing migraine. It didn't help.

"Uh-mm," she seemed hesitant. "Dana helped you back to your room and got you all settled in." She finally answered.

"Dana? Dana Ward?" Kate nodded in response. "I guess that makes sense. She has a kind and helpful personality, and even helped me out a few times, so it doesn't seem out of character for her to go out of her way to help me. But, I didn't see her anywhere last night," the brunette leaned back against her pillow and sighed, carefully resting her palms against her eyes. "What do I know? I was so drunk that I thought I saw Victoria here last night. It must've been a dream or something. Pretty weird, right?" The dirty blonde released a nervous chuckle. _Why is she acting so weird? "_ Hey, Kate, are you okay? You seem a bit...off," Max turned in her bed to face her.

"N-No, I'm not okay! I was really worried about you last night...what Zach did was awful. Utterly unforgivable! And, what's worse—" her hazel eyes brimmed with emotion. "What's worse is the awful things that are being circulated about you around campus."

Her ears perked up, as she propped herself up on her elbows. "What's being said about me?"

Kate's expression grew ashen, as she relayed gossip of the demented love triangle that apparently she and Victoria were in with the quarterback. Word was that Victoria was secretly "crushing" on Zach, and Max tried seducing him at the party to get him all to herself. There were no explicit details provided about how everything went down, only speculation and heresy from other Vortex Club members. There was no mention of the attempted rape, nor any word of how the quarterback was properly subdued then removed from the party. The only reason Kate knew the true events of that night, was because Courtney woke her up that morning and told her to go check on Max. The blowback on the blonde wasn't as bad, because she was co-president of the Vortex Club. Max, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. The brunette wanted to be surprised by the fact that it took less than twenty-four hours for rumors about her being promiscuous to circulate around campus, but after experiencing Blackwell first-hand she knew better.

After they had finished talking, Kate eventually had to leave to attend a food drive event at her church; apparently she volunteered every month to help out any way she could in her community. _How did I get so lucky to end up with an actual angel as a friend?_ Max was once again in deep thought, as she got dressed and decided to take a walk around campus to clear her head. While on her stroll, she felt the presence of multiple people staring at her—at least more than the usual glares that were courtesy of Victoria Chase and her plastic companions. _Eh, Taylor and Courtney aren't that bad,_ Max reminded herself, _they're actually pretty cool._ The brunette went to a nearby trash can to empty some items from her messenger bag. That was when she noticed that someone had taken the liberty of tagging "Max Slutfield wants Bigfoot dick" over a sign that used to read "Girls' Dormitory." _Nice_ , the brunette sighed to herself. She felt her migraine coming back in full force, accompanied by the familiar burning of tears in her eyes. Everything was too much for her to handle at the moment. She wandered over to the bus stop in hopes of taking her mind off of last night, the Vortex Club, and most importantly Blackwell. Once on the bus, she thought about getting off at the Two Whales Dinner, but decided to keep going a little further into town. _Perhaps it's time for another change_ , she thought. She got off at a stop not too far from an outdoor mall that was just a little ways down the street. She decided to check it out. Maybe she could get some film while she was out that way. Sure, the day began horribly, but it didn't have to end that way.

Out of film. _How does a store that specializes in camera supplies run out of film?_ The brunette was seething. _Today will get better. Today will get better—it has to_ , she thought with a coerced grin. Max walked past a corner cafe, then doubled back to take a peek inside. _Are those freshly baked apple frickin' fritters? Yes, Max Caulfield. Yes, they are._ The brunette practically tripped through the door, as she went to go stand in line. It wasn't too long, though, which was nice. Max casually scanned the cafe searching for a potential seat, when she saw her. Victoria Chase was sitting at a corner table reading a graphic novel. Even in a relaxed setting the blonde exuded poised regality, as she sat with her posture erect and legs gently crossed at the thigh. She had the book resting on her lap with a stern expression. Max couldn't help but stare, because the blonde was simply captivating. Then, the memories of last night came rushing in, flooding her mind in painful white flashes. She hadn't even noticed that it was her turn to order. She sputtered out an apology, then ordered an apple fritter with a small vanilla latte. _Maybe Victoria would like to have some,_ the brunette thought with a tired smile. She had no idea how to approach the elegant teen, but figured the best approach would be to just go for it. With sweaty palms and a throbbing heart, Max walked over to Victoria's table and stood over the chair opposite her. The blonde didn't look up. _Does she not know I'm here?_ Max felt her confidence waver and her anxiety climaxed. She attempted to clear her throat, but not really sure if she made any noise. She couldn't hear anything over the drum of her heart. Victoria flipped to the next page, then released an annoyed sigh. Her eyes remind in her book.

"Are you going to sit down or keep staring at me?"

Jade stones briefly flickered towards the brunette before going back to the book. Max didn't know how to respond, so she decided to silently place her items on the table and have a seat. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until the blonde snapped her book shut and set it in her Coco Chanel bag. She leaned back in her chair and stared at Max.

"Did you forget how to speak or something? Why are you just staring at me?"

Max felt all of the blood rush to her face, as she nervously casted her attention to the faded table before her which suddenly became the most fascinating thing in the world. _Those dark spots almost look like a stretchy cat face_ , the brunette thought as she tried to contain her panic induced sweating. She felt her body temperature soar under the blonde's dispassionate gaze, which resulted in her nervously taking off her hoodie. _I am tanking so hard right now!_ Her internal cries gained occupancy of her actions. _Say something, Caulfield! Don't just stare at her like an idiot!_

Max felt her mouth preemptively fall open. A shattered "T-Thank—Thank you," fumbled from her mouth, followed by a lopsided upturn of her lips which was meant to resemble a smile. She attempted to utter another jumbled sentence, when Victoria interrupted her.

"Don't get the wrong idea about that," she stated in a reserved tone. She stared pensively out of the window, brows furrowing slightly. "I still don't like you, but I don't condone behavior like that. I hate rapists." She then focused on Max, who tried desperately not to unravel under the blonde's intense gaze. "I hate people who choose not to listen. I heard you say 'no,' and I saw him choosing to ignore you." Her jaw clenched momentarily. "Behavior like that is fucking unacceptable," she spat.

Max didn't know how to respond to anything the blonde had said. All she had were questions that were too personal and invasive to ask her. Like, what happened to her to make her so distant and angry? Was she taken advantage of as a child? Why did she not like Max? For the first time ever, all the brunette wanted to do was talk to Victoria so she could get to know her. She didn't remember much from last night, but she will never forget Victoria's face when she was kicking Zach into the ground. Anyone else seeing her in action would have thought that she was taking rightful revenge against the guy who personally attacked her. But it all just raised further questions, so the brunette did something she knew she would regret.

"W-Why don't you like me, Victoria?"

She instantly felt her lungs collapse into her stomach from the befuddled look that inhabited the blonde's face. Max wanted to apologize and beg Victoria to forget the stupid question ever existed, but then she noticed the shift in her demeanor. For the first time, Max caught Victoria Chase off guard, and the sight was a bit unnerving to say the least. However it didn't last long, since her face then changed from bewilderment to outrage. The blonde shot up from her chair, and leaned on a manicured palm to jab an accusatory finger in the brunette's face. Max couldn't tell if her face was red because of the sudden shift in her emotions or the building heat. It's hot, right? She's sure it wasn't just her.

"I-I don't like you, because you're a soft fucking loser," she growled, before snatching her designer bag and stomping out the door.

The cafe grew silent, as everyone turned to the crimson cheeked brunette who quietly cringed in her seat. _Dammit_ , she thought, as she sprang from her chair, and ran out the door after the blonde. Max never considered herself to be athletic, and that day she proved herself right. She was out of breath after only a few minutes of running down the block. _Where did she go?_ Max took a quick breather, and scanned the surrounding area in frantic sweeps. She didn't know why, but she had to find Victoria—to apologize or something. The faint trace of gardenias caused the brunette to turn around in time to see Victoria sitting in the lobby of a movie theatre. Without really thinking about what would follow, Max ran inside and stopped in front of her to catch her breath. The blonde appeared to be even more irritated than before.

"Why did you follow me?" Her voice was low and steady.

Max continued panting, while she straightened her posture and used the rubber band that adorned her wrist to tie back her hair that was now drenched in sweat. She motioned to roll up the sleeves of her hoodie, then it donned on her. _That's right,_ she inwardly groaned, _I left my favorite hoodie in the freakin' cafe_.

"I w-wanted to apologize," she said once she caught her breath. "I don't know what I ever did to you, but it's clear that you h-hate me and—I'm sorry if I ever did something to you un-unintentionally."

 _Why the hell am I apologizing?_

"Why the fuck are you apologizing?" Victoria's nonplussed expression mirrored the brunette's mental canvas.

 _Woah, that's total jinx._ She thought, then internally face-palmed. _Inappropriate timing, Caulfield._

"I-I don't know. I guess I want to know why you saved me last night?" She nervously rubbed the goosebumps forming on her arms. The regret of leaving her favorite hoodie behind finally catching up to her.

"Because even I'm not a fucking monster. Regardless of how much I can't stand somebody, no one deserves that. Not even soft-bellied losers like you," Victoria huffed. Then, gathered her things only to once again rise from her chair and cross for the door. "Just leave me alone," she said in a quieter voice.

But, rather than making another dramatic exit, she just stopped in front of the door and stared through the glass paneling. Some time after the brunette arrived it had started raining heavily. It wasn't just any downpour, though, as thunder and lightning accompanied it as well. A muffled "fuck," escaped the blonde's mouth as she elegantly turned around and went back to sitting on the moderately comfortable 'leather' armchair. Max awkwardly hovered near her for a few Moments, until Victoria glared at her in annoyance. "Why are pacing around like that?"

The young photographer briefly stopped and nervously looked to the poorly drawn framed landscape that hung near the entrance of the restrooms. Anything was easier to look at than Victoria herself, but she also knew that she wasn't going outside in that storm, either, so they might as well wait out the storm together. She then looked over at the digital screen that listed all of the movies that were currently showing. The only ones that were worth seeing were _Hotdog Man: Never Playing Ketchup_ and _Cannibal Mosh-Pit_. The latter of which was rumored to be based on a true story, but that's neither here nor there.

"Um, since the rain looks like it'll be going for a while, and neither of us are leaving...um, did you wanna—watch, um, a m-movie?" The reaction was minute, but Max saw what appeared to be utter shock flash across the blonde's face before returning to her usual icy demeanor. "N-Not together, of course! No, like, separately. Like, separate people—um, God." She trailed off to bury her burning face into her now very sweaty palms. Why didn't things ever go the way she wanted them to?

Amidst her self-wallowing, the fragrant breeze of gardenias caressed past her. The brunette peeked between her fingers to see Victoria heading towards the ticket line. All she could do was drop her hands in confusion. Then, the blonde turned towards her with an annoyed, yet expectant look.

"Jesus, Lamefield, this was your stupid idea, are you coming or not? Also, I'm not fucking watching that stupid hotdog movie. It's _Cannibal Mosh-Pit_ or nothing." Max couldn't contain her elation, as a bright grin spread across her face. She had consciously force herself to walk and not merrily skip when she made her way to the line next to the tall blonde. Max could have sworn she saw a faint smile casted on her lips, but it was quickly masked with an irritated scowl. "Hey, eyes up here, hipster," she motioned her face with dual fingers, "not a single word of this to anybody, or else I will fucking destroy you. Are we clear?" Her jade irises flickered with genuine concern.

The brunette's swell mood took an unexpected nose dive. She sighed, "Yes, Victoria. My lips are sealed." Victoria gave a satisfied hum, then pulled an elaborate wallet from her purse along with a credit card. When it was finally their turn the blonde ordered the tickets and handed the cashier her card. She didn't know why, but the thought of Victoria paying for anything that was for her, made Max incredibly uncomfortable and anxious. "W-Wait! I can pay for my own ticket, Victoria. You don't have to do this." Her voice was tiny, but firm in delivery.

The elegant teen offered a wry chuckle, "I don't have to do anything, especially for you," she gave a once over of the brunette's body, "but, with the way you dress I can't help but assume you don't have much to begin with. All you wear are washed out jeans and that stupid grey—" she paused, then gave her a curious look. "Where is your stupid grey hoodie?"

"I-I left it at the cafe," Max said bashfully, gently rubbing her forearm.

Victoria stared at her for moment, "Of course you did," she finally said. She gave the cashier her card, and made a beeline for the snack line. "I'll get the popcorn and soda, too," she mumbled.

Max didn't really say anything while they were getting snacks, she didn't want to accidentally say something wrong that would make their impromptu day together end. It didn't make sense to her, but she was really enjoying being around Victoria, despite the fact that she was almost always cruel towards her in the past. But, it wasn't about that. There was something in the blonde's eyes—something in her actions that contradicted her words. Maybe if they could just put the high school drama aside, they could be friends. _To be friends with Victoria,_ the brunette thought. A light smile on her lips. If the only reason she was even able to spend time with Victoria was because of the rain, then— _I wish the rain would never stop._

The theatre was surprisingly darker than Max remembered, since the last time she went to see a movie at the cinema was probably two years ago. She made a mental note about needing to get out more, if she wanted to improve her social skills. Max paused halfway up the stairs when she noticed the blonde take occupancy of a seat that she was going to blindly follow her to. She didn't know how to respond appropriately in Victoria Chase related situations, especially ones that included them watching a movie together—honestly doing anything together that didn't involve excessive bullying. For straight A student who relied solely on being informed before making a decision, the fact that she was clueless on what to do around the blonde caused her anxiety to go haywire. It definitely didn't help that the movie tickets Victoria bought were for the luxury seating that came equipped with a pre-movie blanket and free refills on popcorn. The seats were reclinable armchairs that were arranged in pairs with an adjustable armrest as the only physical barrier. Max didn't even know seating like this existed, let alone that she would be able to first experience it with her sworn enemy—okay sworn enemy is a bit harsh, but she wasn't very fond of Victoria for treating her poorly. She didn't know if Victoria would allow her to sit with her in the paired seating, or tell her to go to a different row entirely. She seemed fed up enough with the brunette's antics, and gave off the air of wanting to be left alone. Actually, it seemed like she always wanted to be alone. _I wonder if she's lonely?_ Max ceased her internal debate and walked, or more appropriately, staggered over to the poised blonde.

"C-C-Can I sit n-next to you?" Max felt her brain short circuit.

A sharp glance was cast towards the brunette. She briefly considered just running away and never returning to Blackwell or her normal life, but quickly decided against it. She could barely afford a movie ticket, so running away was definitely off the table...at least until she had stable income. Max held her breath instead.

"Sure," Victoria answered. Max couldn't tell if she was being dismissive or sarcastic. Or maybe it was both: dismissive sarcasm. "The impossible is already happening. So, why not?" She moved her designer bag and placed it in the empty space next to her. She then lifted a cautionary finger. "But, under no circumstances is this armrest to be moved, understand? This isn't some lesbian outing, so keep the sapphic shit to yourself, Queerfield."

 _Queerfield? That's actually pretty funny_ , she thought _._ Max didn't notice it, but she was giggling out loud as she took her seat beside Victoria who simply retorted with a quizzical look.

"So the rumors are true," Victoria said nonchalantly as she took a popcorn kernel and popped it in her mouth.

"Rumors? That I'm interested in women?" The blonde responded with a knowing arch of her manicured brow. Max pointed towards the popcorn bucket and the blonde moved her arm. Max took a gracious handful. "I-I actually don't know what I like, yet. I haven't had a crush on anyone before, so…" she punctuated her statement with a gentle shrug.

"How the hell have you never had a crush on anybody before?" Victoria almost looked offended, and even took it as far as to reject the brunette from a second helping of popcorn by using her arm as a barricade. "That makes no fucking sense, Lamefield. What have you been doing with your life this entire time for you to not know if you're even attracted to people?"

"I-I've been studying. A lot." Max felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"Jesus fuck, Caulfield. If I gave a shit that would be the saddest thing I've heard in a while," Victoria said with another graceful pop of the salty kernel.

Then, she froze mid-chew and looked blankly at the screen. Max didn't know why it impacted her so much, but all she did know was it made her feel. _She called me Caulfield._ In a chilly movie theatre the brunette's body was running hot, her heart was beating twice as fast, and her palms were once again sweating. _Great_. It was too dark to read Victoria's reaction, but her frozen demeanor was revealing enough. Max knew very little about her blonde adversary, but if she knew anything it was that Victoria didn't have slip-ups. Ever. So, Max did what she needed to do in order to keep their time together as pleasant as possible. She feigned ignorance.

"I might just be asexual," she joked with a nervous chuckle.

"That's a possibility," Victoria replied dryly. She kept the popcorn to herself and didn't look over to Max as the previews finally began.

The longer they sat in the dark watching the movie, which was beautifully written and shot by the way, the more Max realized how foolish she was for leaving her favorite hoodie and apple baked snack in that cafe. Out of habit, she curled her legs to her side and began rubbing her arms. The thin blanket across her legs didn't help her one bit. She thought about getting up to ask for another one, when she felt something soft land in her lap. It was Victoria's blanket, still folded up and unused. Max looked over to her to express her gratitude, but the blonde had her attention trained on the screen.

"I told you to keep that lesbian shit to yourself, loser." Victoria said, she still had her focus to the movie.

"I just—thanks," Max whispered, as she pulled the thin fabric over her shoulders. She didn't know if it was the blanket's doing, but Max felt much warmer.

 _Cannibal Mosh-Pit_ definitely stayed true to its name. The gore was a bit over-the-top and the brunette often found herself shielding her face with either the blanket or her trembling fingers. Even though she considered herself to be an avid horror-movie lover, there were lines she just refused to cross. The climax of the movie was even worse, as it consisted of a giant mass of people mindlessly eating each other—just as the title of the movie suggests. That hypothetical line was finally crossed after witnessing a side character go from "eating out" his girlfriend to physically eating eat her, causing Max to pull her focus away from the screen and mentally vomit. This time rather than shielding her face, she turned towards Victoria who seemed completely unphased by the fleshy bloodbath projected on the screen. The blonde sensed the invasive stare and glanced over with an annoyed look.

"This isn't gay. I'm just scared," Max quivered.

A smile found its way on painted lips as a dry laugh emitted from the blonde. "Of course you're scared. Use that ridiculous blanket to cover your face," she suggested.

"It's too thin; I can still see through it." A tiny yelp escaped her throat, as the blood curdling sounds of tearing flesh and tormented screams filled the theatre. Max pinched her eyes shut.

"You are high maintenance, do you realize that?" Victoria said with a sigh. She gracefully pulled off her Coco Chanel jacket and tossed it over the brunette's head. "Here," she groaned, "use this to cover your giant eyes. Now, shut up. It's finally getting interesting."

The subtle fragrance of gardenias and fresh linen washed over Max in deep powerful waves. The petite fuchsia jacket smelled exactly like Victoria, and Max wanted nothing more than to live in it. Throughout the remaining forty-five minutes of the film, Max sat underneath Victoria's jacket taking deep deliberate breaths making sure to savor the intoxicating floral fragrance. _Who knew a person could smell so good?_ She thought to herself, as she took another deep inhale. And before she knew it, the film had ended and the lights began to fade on.

"It's no _Cannibal Holocaust_ , but I guess that's a good thing," the blonde said, slightly stretching her back and toes. Max couldn't help but stare, then again who couldn't? Aside from her combative wit, Victoria definitely wasn't hard to look at. "Um, Earth to hipster, did you seriously spend the rest of the movie hiding under my coat? Talk about lame," she scoffed.

"N-No I was paying attention during the non-person-eating parts," Max mumbled with a nervous smile.

"Oh, really? If you were paying attention, then what happened to Luna?" She leaned back in the leathered chair and crossed her legs pointedly. Max had force herself to not stare at her bronzed thighs.

"Uhm, L-Luna didn't live?"

Victoria rolled her eyes and rose from her seat. "I fucking knew it. You weren't even paying attention—that's the last time I'm nice to you. You know what? Give me my damn jacket, I don't want to walk around smelling like a loser." She pulled on the jacket in a fluid motion and gathered her purse and the empty popcorn bucket. "After you, Queerfield. Jesus, pay attention." She gestured towards the stairs with an annoyed grimace.

Max remained silent the entire time, she couldn't trust herself with speaking at the moment. When they reached the lobby, she noticed that the sun had gone down and the rain had finally stopped. But she wasn't ready for the rain to stop. Her chest tightened.

"It's about fucking time," Victoria huffed, "there aren't any other movies worth watching to kill the time."

 _Victoria would have watched another movie with me if it was still raining?_ The brunette didn't know how to feel about that revelation, until she was greeted by discomfort and sadness. Considering last night's events, spending time with the Queen Bee of Blackwell was an unexpected, yet welcomed change. Max wasn't ready for it to end just yet, she was finally getting used to the idea of spending time with her...and it felt nice.

"Y-Yeah, I personally think that _Hotdog Man_ didn't need a sequel. The first one was good enough for me," she chuckled nervously.

"Fucking _Hotdog Man_ gets your knobs turning? Are you shitting me right now?"

"No..?"

"Yikes, stop talking right now Shitfield, before I regret hanging out with you—" another pause, "don't look into that," the blonde said sharply.

"Well, I had a good time with you," Max replied with a shy smile. She suddenly regretted ever saying anything upon noticing the disdain her taller companion's face.

"W-Well don't get used it, loser." Victoria's cheeks were slightly flushed. "This is the first and last time this will ever happen. As soon as we leave this building everything will go back to how it was before."

Max felt her chest clench even tighter. She was almost afraid to speak up. "D-Does it have to—?"

"Yes," Victoria cut her off mid-sentence. "We aren't friends, Lamefield, remember that." All the brunette could do was look down defeated as the threat of tears gripped her soft blue eyes. She heard Victoria back away before briefly stopping. "I'm leaving now. You should, too, before it gets too dark." She then felt something draped over her shoulders. It was the blanket. Max quickly turned around, but was met with the elegant sway of the blonde clicking away in her heels as she headed outside into the brisk autumn night.

An hour later, Max found herself on the bus back to Blackwell. She sat leaning against the frosted window with the thin fabric draped across her chest. Despite the poor job the blanket was doing at keeping her warm, something else caused a subtle warmth to radiate throughout her body as a tender smile made its way across her lips. The brunette closed her eyes with a single thought echoing through her mind—

 _I hope it rains again._


	3. Chapter 3: A Classic Game

For the next few days, Max noticed how distant Victoria seemed. She didn't harass her during their photography class, in fact she didn't speak unless addressed directly by Jefferson. As far as she knew, Victoria barely even looked at her and she didn't know why, but it bothered her. Courtney and Taylor didn't address the brunette when they were with Victoria, aside from a friendly smile or wave they didn't have much of an interaction either. Max didn't mind that part, though. It was the middle of the week, approximately four days since she last interacted with Victoria, and all she could do was think about was how to make it happen again. Max couldn't recall when that last time was that she had so much fun with anyone other than her childhood experiences with Chloe. The possibility of her not having a genuinely good time since she was a child hit Max harder than she had expected. She didn't really know what to make of that revelation, other than the fact that she needed more friends, although she did consider Kate and Warren to be her close friends. Yeah, Warren was a bit weird for a couple days after she had rejected his date proposal, but things have finally evened out between them. At least that's how it seemed. Kate, on the other hand, had been very supportive of Max and even more helpful—which was something Max didn't even think was possible, but she appreciated it all the same. However, she wasn't able to effectively display it. Max didn't want to admit it, but she had become incredibly insecure and depressed since Zach sexually assaulted her. She had grown impatient and short-tempered over the past couple of days, completely unable to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from within herself. There were multiple times where she had unintentionally gone off on Kate or Warren over simple matters, and would then apologize and leave in an even more frazzled state. Although Kate had given her a heads up about the toxic rumors being spread about her throughout Blackwell, it did very little to brace her for the damaging impact of being smeared as a "Vortex Slut" and getting heckled by strangers throughout the day. Not everyone in Blackwell was being awful towards her, though. There were a handful of students who believed that Max didn't deserve this treatment, but living in a society where rape culture was the social norm the young photographer wasn't very surprised. In those moments, Max couldn't decide which was more upsetting: her assault or the current social climate. Either way, both were equally depressing.

She had been in an irrevocable fog for most of that day, and hadn't even noticed when her instructor, Mark Jefferson, had spent the last several seconds trying to gain her attention. She felt her pencil slip from her grip and land on her notebook. Max looked up with a yawn on the cusp of her lips.

"I'm sorry—what?" She mumbled vacantly. The shocked reaction from her classmates made her wonder whether or not she looked as miserable as she felt. Possibly.

"Um, wow," an incredulous laugh emitted from Jefferson, "Did I interrupt your personal time, Max? That was sarcasm. Now please wake up and explain the importance of Dorothea Lange's work to the rest of the class."

"Lange's most important work was during the Depression-era. Her photograph, Migrant Mother, inspired the development of documentary photography."

The room fell silent for a few moments, followed by a knowing chuckle from Jefferson. "Very good, Max. If the rest of you did the assigned readings, perhaps you would also be as bored in class as Max. Hm? But, rather than showing me you understood the readings by falling asleep, perhaps you should just participate in class."

After another chuckle, the class carried on. Max looked over to Victoria who sat at angle with her legs gentle crossed at the thigh. Although her posture emulated attentiveness, her eyes were downcast in a pensive nature. Feeling her presence, the blonde quickly looked up and shot Max a scowl before returning her attention to their instructor. Max could tell that something was wrong with her, but tried to brush the feeling off. Despite her wanting to be friends with Victoria, she didn't reciprocate. Max couldn't figure out if she felt this way because she had saved her that night, or if it was from some other obscure interaction she couldn't remember. _It has to be because she saved me,_ the brunette concluded. _Why else would I want to befriend a person who was mean to me otherwise?_ Yeah, she had a great time with Victoria at the movie theatre, but what difference does that matter when Victoria herself said that it was never going to happen again? Maybe she felt bad for the brunette and wanted to show her a moment of kindness out of sheer pity. The longer Max thought about it, the more depressed she became. Her own thoughts manifested into poor self-care management. It could be seen by the way she wore her clothes, or didn't do her hair. As if she rolled out of bed and pulled her hair back into a tangled ponytail. She never went to find her favorite hoodie, and instead opted to wear long sleeve shirts and button ups that were either too long or too big for her petite frame. She didn't have any baggier pants like she desired, but it didn't matter. Her large shirts now covered most of her thighs. The only thing she did keep for herself, were her grey and black DC high tops—a gift from her parents after getting accepted into the most prestigious high school for the arts in the country. Aside from that, she didn't care. She didn't want people inspecting her body anyway, not that her old clothing made it easier, but now she is more comfortable this way. The sharp ringing of a bell being played over the intercom system, punctuated the end of class bringing Max from her thoughts. As she lazily consolidated her personal effects, Kate walked over to affirm their lunch date.

"Yeah, I just need a minute putting away my things," the brunette responded in a deflated tone. "You can go on if you want. I'll meet you at our regular spot."

"N-No, I don't mind waiting." Kate replied. Her voice was thick with concern.

Once they finally finished navigating the lunch line and paid for their food, the pair headed outside to the concreted sitting area where a few tables with benches encompassed a small garden. Luck was in their favor, because a small table big enough for two people was left unoccupied. They walked over and began to eat their meal in silence. Kate kept looking over at Max between bites with large sympathetic eyes. Max rolled her eyes and dropped the dry cheese burger she had been nibbling on the plastic tray below, causing a hardened French fry to fall onto the ground.

"What is it, Kate?" Max asked, trying to suppress her annoyance. At first it was nice how much more fragile and gentle Kate has been with her over the past few days, but now it was starting to annoy the brunette. Being treated like a glass figurine only made her feel even worse. _I'm not broken,_ she huffed inwardly.

"Oh! Uhm. Did you—perhaps want to work on Jefferson's project together? I-I can do most of the work. I really don't mind—"

Max had interrupted her with a sharp intake of breath and a harsh smile on her lips. "Why does everyone insist on treating me like I'm either the biggest whore on the planet, or that I've suddenly become so incompetent that I can barely function? Why is that Kate? Do you just think that I can't do anything on my own?" She boldly stated in a raised voice. Everybody in the surrounding tables grew silent and looked at them.

"I-I…I just wanted to help, Max," Kate squeaked, her soft hazel eyes once bright and concerned now red with emotion and filled with tears. She gently bit her bottom lip to keep her mouth from trembling.

Max suddenly felt overwhelmed with regret as she felt her own eyes sting with tears, as well. "I appreciate all you've done, but I don't need your help." She tried to keep her emotions in check with slow deliberate breaths, but it only made her feel worse. Her friend only responded with a slight shake of her head, as tears spilled from her eyes. Max didn't try to stop her while she gathered her things and quietly left. She just kept her eyes down and finished her meal alone.

 _I'm a piece of garbage._

The rest of the day went by in a blur, and she was heading back to the dorms to conclude the evening. On the way back to her room, she didn't see Victoria or her friends on the steps like they usually were, nor was she graced by the blonde yelling from her own room telling Max to quit stomping down the halls. She was greeted by silence and she hated it. Once in the comfort of her room, Max shrugged out of her dark top with a groan and collapsed onto her bed. She took out her phone and pulled up the photography project for Jefferson's class. After taking a few anecdotal notes on her phone, she flipped over and closed her eyes.

Hours later, Max was jolted awake by the buzzing of her phone which was tucked carelessly under her neck. She blinked her eyes into focus, and noticed that it was a phone call from Kate. _Kate never calls this late,_ Max thought, as she looked at the time. It was a little after 10:00 PM. But, before Max could deliberate over whether or not to answer, the ringing stopped. She leaned further into her pillows and released a deep sigh.

"Shitty... buckets. I forgot to do my homework," she groaned. Max pulled herself out of bed and threw on a tank top, before wandering down the hall to use the restroom. As she was washing her hands, Taylor entered the restroom and gave her a friendly wave.

"Caulfield, how's life?" She said with a nonchalant smile.

"Um. Life is life," the brunette replied nervously. She went over to the sink and began to quickly washing her hands while internally chastising herself over her uncouth response.

Taylor laughed. "That's some heavy stuff, man, but very true. Life is what you make it." She paused before heading into a nearby stall. "Hey, this is totally random, but some of the girls and I are having a hump day movie night/ celebration in our room. If you feel up to it, maybe you should stop by."

Max's eyes widened momentarily, before she turned to dry her hands. "Maybe I will," she responded and turned to give her blue eyed counterpart a tiny smile.

A cup of coffee and two hours later, Max had finally completed her homework for the next day. _I'm never putting this off again,_ she thought with a slight stretch at her desk. She pulled out her phone to look at the time: 12:14 AM. _I wonder if they're still up._ She then remembered how Courtney had put her number in her phone after she and Zach had arrived at the party. Max decided to shoot Courtney a message:

 **Max** : Are you guys still doing the movie night? By the way, this is Max Caulfield. (12:17 AM)

 **Courtney** : Max Caulfield! Yeah we're still going strong! Bring that booty over guurrrl. ;) (12:25 AM)

"I guess I'm going," the brunette mumbled to herself.

She placed the phone in her pocket and grabbed a couple bags of microwavable popcorn. She gave herself a once over in her wall mirror before stepping out the door. Max still had on her tank top and jeans from earlier. _Whatever_ , she thought, and headed down the hall and knocked on their door. The sound of screams and dramatic music leaked through. _Probably a scary movie,_ the brunette thought. Her heartbeat quickened, the last time she saw a scary movie was with Victoria. Max unintentionally held her breath when the door swung open to reveal Taylor holding a red solo cup in hand.

"Caulfield! Right on time, man."

Max gave her blue eyed companion a confused look. "But, you invited me hours ago."

Taylor feigned a stern expression, until she broke out in laughter. "Dude, seriously? I was just joking. Come in, ya nut." Taylor gestured the brunette inside with a wide grin. Max quickly noticed that everyone else had red cups, as well. Water? She wasn't naive enough to believe that. She turned to Taylor.

"Hey, are you guys drinking...alcohol? Isn't it like a Wednesday?"

Juliet Watson was sitting on a beanbag chair in the far corner with a wool blanket draped carelessly over her shoulders. After a deep drink from her cup, she pulled it from her lips and creased her forehead glaring at the long haired blonde. "Taylor, why the eff would you invite a narc like Caulfield? She's totally going to go cry to the principal about it now," she snipped between pursed lips.

Taylor turned towards the gossip artist to reply, when Dana Ward spoke up instead. "On my word my girl Max here isn't a narc, Jules. I just think the wine has you a little bit paranoid." The dark haired ginger then looked over to Max and waved her over to with a wide grin. "Just come sit over here with me, Max! Once Jules starts drinking, everyone is a damn suspect. You can thank the Blackwell Totem for that headache," she added with knowing arch of her brow.

Courtney then shot up from the shagged carpeting in a dramatic fashion, "Can everyone just shut up for a second, until I can officially welcome Caultfield to our third weekly Hump Day Celebration?" She then turned to the brunette and gave her a dramatic gentleman's bow. "Welcome to the shindig." She laughed. The others followed with theatrical boos and began throwing popcorn at Courtney, who just laughed even harder.

"Official welcome, my ass!" Dana barked with another flick of popcorn.

Max couldn't help but smile at everyone's high spirits. Maybe she had made the right decision after all. Before she knew it, she had began chuckling herself. Taylor noticed and offered her a warm smile. She then pointed to her cup with an inquisitive expression. Max responded with a larger smile and slight nod of her head. Her blue eyed friend then acknowledged with a smirk and single finger gun, before wandering over to the mini fridge. _I think I finally speak Christensen-ese,_ Max joked to herself with another chuckle. She was really enjoying herself. Max watched carefully as she poured the wine into her cup. She was sure that Taylor had no ill-intentions, but better safe than sorry. Not even a minute had passed, and Taylor had returned.

"Here you are, m'lady," she said with another smile. Max graciously took the cup and went over to the bed next to Dana.

"Is this spot taken?" Max joked.

"Technically, no." Dana replied with a laugh. "Spot's all yours."

She happily sat down and took a long drink from her cup. Then, paused with broadened eyes. Dana gave her a worried look. "Oh, my God. Wine is freaking delicious," Max finally exclaimed after a drawn out pause. Dana fell back laughing into the pillows behind them, with her drink loosely gripped in her hand.

Max began laughing, too, when a sharp knock at the door silenced the room, leaving noise from the TV as the only audible sound. Everyone looked at each other with large fearful eyes. Max's brain kicked into overdrive, as her mind went rampant with worry. What if they really were too loud to the point where someone called in a complaint, and that's who was at the door? Then who should answer? Juliet shot Courtney a panicked looked and fervently motioned her to open the door. Courtney scrambled to her feet and began to straighten up her appearance. When she finally started at the door, Taylor lurched forward to snatch her drink from her hand and stashed it on a shelf in the closet with the other drinks. It was all too obvious. _I dug my own grave by coming here,_ Max thought with a stressful sigh. The sharp knocking echoed through the room once more. Courtney just stared at the door with trembling hands.

"I know you beavers aren't fucking sleeping. Now, open the damn door." The familiar voice growled. Max's body snapped up from her slump. _Victoria Chase is here, too?_ As if on cue, her palms began to sweat as her heart attempted to leap from her chest. The brunette felt her throat go dry. If only she had her drink. Courtney opened the door with a relieved smile and went on to tell the blonde how she thought they were in trouble. "Maybe you goofy idiots should keep it down once in a while," Victoria responded with a barely visible smirk. She crossed into the room and began greeting everyone. When she began to greet Dana, her jade eyes locked on to a familiar face. "Queerfield? What the blasted fuck are you doing here?" Everyone then looked at Max, who just pointed towards Taylor with her mouth agape. Victoria released an agitated sigh and gripped the bridge of her nose. "Use your words, loser. I'm just asking you a simple fucking question."

Taylor then took her friend by the arm and led her towards the mini fridge. "Victoria, Victoria, why so aggressive?"

"W-What the hell, T? Did you invite her?" Victoria sputtered, trying to free her arm but failing.

"I sure as hell did. And what of it?" Taylor leaned closer to Victoria and whispered something that Max wasn't able to hear. The tall blonde just pulled back and stared at her with an etched frown tugging on her lips. Taylor was completely unphased and released a hardy chuckle. Once she finished fixing Victoria's drink, she placed it in her hand and looped a carefree arm around her seething friend's neck. "Tonight is about having fun and getting through the rest of the week. Just try going with it? At least for this one night?"

"Fine," Victoria replied curtly. She walked over to the bed where Max was busy pretending like she wasn't just eavesdropping. "If you're going to stay, the least you could do is get out of my spot."

Max felt her soul tear from her body, as she visibly jumped at the accusation. "Y-Your spot?" She whipped towards Dana who was absentmindedly staring at the TV between sips of wine. "Dana, didn't you say this spot was open?"

"Max, my girl, I said 'technically,'" she used air quotes for emphasis, "that spot was open. Whenever she decides to chill with us, Victoria usually chills on the bed, but she wasn't here tonight, so…" she paused to take another sip.

"So, you just thought to give away my seat to the world's biggest hipster?" The tall blonde placed a manicured hand on her hip. Max couldn't help but notice how soft and feminine Victoria looked in her satin blush pink pajamas.

"Why does any of that matter when you clearly weren't here? It'd be different if I intentionally gave away your spot—and dude, what the fuck? This is Courtney's bed, anyway. 'Technically' it's her spot," Dana waved her drink in the air to place more emphasis on her air quotes. Victoria's eyes narrowed. "Max is chill anyway, V. So why not just sit between us or something?" Dana made some space between she and Max and patted the area with her hand. Max felt as if her entire body was on fire. She couldn't be the only hot, right?

A scoff escaped soft pink lips. "I'll just sit somewhere else," she mumbled.

"Ooh, Victoria, sit with me," Taylor called from a small sofa on the other side of the room.

The tall blonde told her to calm down and once the pair were comfortably on the couch, Taylor threw a Vortex Club blanket over their legs. Max didn't realize she was staring at them, until she noticed Victoria give her an odd look before redirecting her attention back to Taylor. Max didn't know why, but her chest started to ache. A playful jab to her shoulder caused her to look over to Dana who wore a mischievous grin.

"It's almost like they're going to kiss or something, right?" The dark haired ginger laughed and took another sip of wine.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Over the summer, Taylor and Victoria became pretty close and every now and again whenever we all hangout, they seclude themselves and talk for hours."

Max didn't know how to respond to that. She glanced over at the two blondes who now seemed to be engaged in the horror movie Courtney had on. They both were very beautiful and looked good together. No, perfect. Max's chest tightened even further. Her once chipper mood now reduced to a dismal puddle. "I didn't know they were so close," unintentionally made its way from her mouth.

"Yeah, I'm almost certain Taylor isn't straight. Sure, she's had a couple of boyfriends here and there, but I totally caught her ogling the new librarian last year. I mean jaw dropping ogles, girl. Ever since she has religiously gone to the library to study. She used to hate studying in the library."

"What about Victoria?" Max couldn't stop herself from speaking. Dana gave her knowing smirk and continued in a hushed tone.

"I don't know about Victoria. There were rumors that she and Nathan were dating, but after he went to juvie that died down. No one has seen her date anyone, and she doesn't seem interested in anyone, either. She keeps it under wraps." Dana noticed Max's unchanging demonor and gave her a playful nudge of her shoulder. "Max, I was just kidding about them kissing. If anything they're just really good friends. Don't worry about it."

"Why would I be worried about that?" Max shifted her weight on the bed and chuckled nervously. She would gain nothing being worried about something so trivial.

"No reason. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I'm close with Jules, but I wouldn't dare share other people's business with her." Dana had a reassuring smile.

"But, didn't you just gossip about Taylor and Victoria with me?"

"Not seriously. If I'm being honest, you give off a vibe of trust, Max. Like, not matter what I say you'll keep it under wraps. That's why."

"I've never been told that before. Thank you." She gave a small chuckle and took another sip of wine. She couldn't tell if she was drunk, but definitely saw the beauty of everything and everyone in that very moment. So maybe just tipsy, if anything.

Max and Dana had talked for the remainder of the movie without either of them realizing it, so when a piece of popcorn ricocheted off her nose she she squeaked with surprise.

"Signing up Dana for your lesbian retreat, Queerfield?" Victoria snorted with a crude laugh.

"What? Max isn't gay, are you?" Dana asked. The brunette might as well have been a moving corpse at the rate that she felt her soul fling from her body at the question.

"Huh?! I-I'm not—" Max sputtered helplessly.

"Save that for the next event, folks!" Courtney chimed in with a languid smile. "It's time for a classic!"

Victoria audibly groaned, "Don't fucking tell me."

"Truth or dare!" Juliet shouted for her bean bag chair.

"When the hell did you even get here?" Victoria gave her a suspicious look.

"Don't be mean, Victoria! I've been here the whole time… I just fell asleep," she snipped.

"Who gives a shit," Taylor interrupted. "I want to be the mediator this time, Court!"

After Taylor and Juliet finished arguing over who was being mediator (Taylor won), Courtney explained the rules to Max, which were: they couldn't leave the dorms, and liars get dealt with by a punishment voted on by the group. Once she had finished explaining the rules, Max realized that she wasn't getting much sleep that night. The game officially started with Dana who opted for truth. In fact, everyone chose truth and the night was pretty mundane until it was Victoria's turn. Max felt her ears perk up.

"Is it true that you're dating someone outside of Blackwell?" Juliet slurred.

"Yup," Victoria replied without looking up from her drink.

"Who?"

"Boo! No two-part questions, Julie Bot," Taylor said in an obnoxious tone.

 _Wait, who is Victoria dating?_ Max felt her heart rate pick up, and took another swig of wine to calm her nerves. It's not like it mattered anyway, Victoria can date whoever she wants. But, she couldn't help but admit that she was a little curious. The game resumed, and before Max had realized it her turn had came.

"Um, dare?"

"Ooh, finally. Let me think. This needs to be spicy," Courtney held her chin for a few moments. "Okay, Max Caulfield, I dare you to kiss someone in this room!" The brunette felt all of the blood in her body converge to her face.

 _This is so embarrassing_.

"D-Do I have to?" She whispered.

"Yes!" Courtney's lips curled into a wide grin.

Max looked over to Victoria and noticed how serious she looked. Her first reaction was to just recoil into a ball on the bed and pray that it somehow miraculously made her invisible, but then another idea came to mind. It's a bit daring, but isn't that the point of this stupid game? Max clenched her eyes shut, leaned up, and placed a quick peck on the side of Dana's cheek who was carelessly throwing back her fifth cup of wine. The action made the dark haired ginger choke back a laugh, almost causing her to do a spit-take on the bed. Courtney clapped her hands happily and squealed with excitement.

"Al-fucking-right, Max!" Taylor cheered from the couch. "Do it again! Kiss her on the mouth this time, or the boob!" The long haired blonde's ridiculous commentary caused Dana to laugh even harder.

"What do you say, Maxy girl?" Dana said with a playful wink. They were enjoying this entirely too much.

In the heat of the moment, Max had looked over to Victoria who had the look of bewilderment plastered across her face. She couldn't decipher what the expression meant, but it made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. The embarrassment for the brunette was so overwhelming that she hunched over and buried her face between her sweaty palms. Taylor eventually calmed everyone down enough to the resume the game. It was Max's turn to ask Dana something, so when she said 'dare,' Max just played it safe and dared her to do five push-ups, which she happily then had everyone pause the game for a restroom break, and that's when Dana turned towards Max and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Everything okay, Max? You seem a bit more shaken up from that silly peck than you should be." Dana said, she began to lightly rub the brunette's upper back in soothing strokes.

"Yeah, I'm good," Max sighed. "I've never had an official first kiss before, not even playfully so it was just a lot for me to do it as a dare." She lightly shrugged.

"Woah, really? I had no idea, Max. Thanks for sharing that with me, if it comes up again I'll try and downplay it somehow." The pair began to talk casually about nothing in particular, until a thought occurred.

"Oh, Dana. By the way, thank you for walking me back to my room and putting me to bed after the party last weekend. I was a wreck, so I know that couldn't have been easy," she said with a tired smile.

Dana gave her a perplexed look. "Max, I don't know what you've heard, but I didn't walk you back to your room after that party. I didn't even go to that party; I was out of town on Saturday."

Before Max could respond, Taylor returned and had everyone resume the game. Max pulled her phone from her back pocket: 2:45 AM. Usually being up so late on a school night would normally upset the brunette, but instead she just put her phone away. For the first time in the last few days she wasn't anxious and stressed out of her mind, instead she was in a peaceful mood drinking wine with a group of women she'd never thought she'd connect with in a million years. That night Max felt good. _I always want to feel like this,_ she thought and took another satisfying sip of wine. After Juliet's turn, all eyes were on Victoria once again.

"Truth," the blonde said into her cup as she downed the rest of the cool liquid. Victoria's lidded eyes landed on Max's briefly before she looked at another area in the room.

 _So, she's drunk, too._ Max thought to herself as she observed her flushed cheeks and moist full lips. _So beautiful…_ Juliet's voice brought her back down to reality, causing her to blink rapidly.

"Who is the mystery guy that you're dating?" Juliet inquired with a widening grin. Victoria scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Dare," she said smoothly, "I'm not answering that, because it's no one's business." At that moment Taylor's hand came down on the blonde's thigh causing her to suck her teeth in surprise. "What the fuck, T?"

"Y-You know the rules, Vicky V. Answer the question, or face the wrath of punishment by democratic vote." Taylor offered a playful wink.

"Who the fuck cares. Vote or whatever," she groaned.

 _Who the hell is she dating?_ Max couldn't suppress her own writhing curiosity. It began to seriously bother her. Why doesn't Victoria want people to know about her boyfriend? _Boyfriend_. Max felt a sinking feeling in her chest. She didn't want to imagine Victoria with another guy, but couldn't deny that whoever he was he must have been very attractive to be with someone as beautiful as Victoria. _Why the fuck do I even care?_ Max's hands began trembling and she closed them into tight fists at her sides. She needed another drink.

"Alright, gang. Let's do it, then! I've been thinking on this all night, so I'm just gonna say it," Taylor rose from the couch and placed a hand in the air. "Who would like to see Victoria make out with Caulfield? I know I would," she extended her hand even higher in the air. The brunette felt as if an atomic bomb went off in her lower abdomen as her core ignited. Her heart rang out in a symphony of beats to the point where she was almost sure everyone heard it when they all looked to her with wide mischievous eyes. But, nothing prepared her for Victoria's outlandish reaction.

"W-What the fuck, T? Are you out of your shit stained mind?!" The blonde shot to her feet, her body language now aggressive and erratic. Her words fumbling every time she directed a manicured finger or heated glare at the brunette. Max tossed back her third cup of wine, to dull her senses. "No fucking way, man! No fucking way. Just because I'm secretive about my love life doesn't fucking mean that I'm gay. Hell no."

Taylor moved to interject, but Dana spoke up instead.

"Victoria's argument, although vehemently unnecessary, does bring me to side with her but not for that reason. Max isn't comfortable kissing random people, so I think we should respect that." Dana said. She looked over to smile at Max, who didn't even notice, because she was too busy trying to regulate her own heartbeat before her nervous system collapsed into itself like a dying star. Everyone else including Victoria agreed, causing Taylor to relent.

"Fine, you win. Then, how about if Max sits on Victoria's lap for the rest of the game?"

"Fuck you, Taylor," the blonde spat out.

"Now, hold on a minute that does sounds fair," Juliet said with a laugh. Everyone else agreed, as well. Taylor looked back to Victoria with an impish grin.

"It's settled, V. Sorry, but those are the rules, m'lady." Taylor's smile broadened. Victoria flicked her off, but was dismissed with a simple wave of her hand. "Alright Victoria, since you broke the rules you have to carry out this punishment for the duration of the game—"

"I bet you don't even know what the word 'duration' means, you stupid piece of fucking driftwood." Victoria's eyes narrowed.

Taylor let out a cynical laugh. "Say what you want, Vicky V, but rules is rules. The Lady Caulfield will be sitting on your lap, now. Max?" The long haired blonde looked over to Max who stood up with a sheepish glint cast in her soft blue eyes.

"Do I have-have to?" Her voice was barely audible.

"Yes, Max. The punishment can affect anyone, regardless of whether or not they broke the rules. This just means that next time we play everyone should abide by them," she shot another toothy grin at Victoria who growled in response.

It felt as if time itself had all but stopped, as the brunette made her away across the room. She didn't know how she felt about anything that was going on, only the fact that she may or may not be having a panic induced heart attack. The dim lighting and soft fragrance of the lavender scented wax melt that illuminated the nearby desk filled the room making Max feel a bit more relaxed than she normally would have been. That and the fact that she was now so drunk that she had to concentrate all of her mental energy on not falling over as she took steady steps towards the blonde. When she finally stood over her, Max's fluctuating anxiety finally slammed into her like a freight train. She was terrified. Was this really okay? She looked at Victoria with fragile eyes for verification. Jade stones flickered up her body before darting into a corner of the room. Her soft ivory jaw clenched as she moved her slender arms from her lap and lifted the blanket. She parted her legs, creating a small space for her to sit between. So, Max wouldn't be technically sitting on her nemesis' lap. That should make it easier right?

"Excuse me," the brunette gently whispered and fell into the space between Victoria's legs. Upon contact, Max felt an unfamiliar ping between her legs, causing her body to stiffen. Her body was running so hot, she could almost swear that her jeans were glued to her legs.

"Was that so bad? Now let's finally continue," Taylor clapped her hands together and resumed the game.

Everyone immediately took their attention from the awkward pair and focused on finishing their night. Meanwhile, Max's brain was working overdrive sending signals throughout her entire nervous system making her body respond in ways completely foreign to her. She shifted nervously and almost shattered when she realized that she was unintentionally rubbing her ass into the blonde's groin. Victoria stiffened and placed a firm hand on Max's shoulder.

"Stop moving," she said in a low unfamiliar tone. Max's body involuntarily shuddered and she scooted herself forward until they're cores were no longer touching.

"I'm sorry," she whispered back.

Victoria remained silent, but Max noticed how stiff her body was against hers. Then she noticed something else—Victoria was in incredible shape. She could feel the blonde's taut thigh muscles flex along her legs. Was Victoria as nervous as she was? But, Max quickly dispelled that thought from her mind. Why would an attractive woman in a relationship get bent out of shape with her sitting between her legs? _I'm not that attractive,_ Max thought. _I'm as plain as they come._ She had been sitting between Victoria's legs for several minutes now, and finally realized just how cold she was. The blanket Victoria tossed away from her legs was now along the side of the couch and drooping onto the floor. Max also noticed the sharp ache that began radiating along the small of her back from keeping it straight all this time. The brunette did everything in her power prevent breathing too harshly, let alone relax the muscles in her body enough to where she would be able to sit comfortably between the attractive woman's legs. Wait. Why was she behaving so awkwardly about sitting between Victoria's legs? _Because she's my bully, so naturally I would be uncomfortable around someone who turns being cruel towards me into a sport,_ she rationalized. Even though Max felt comfortable with the answer to her own question, it didn't feel truthful. Another shudder coursed through her body, this time from the chilled room temperature.

"You're cold," the blonde said, not as a question, but rather like she was stating a fact. Max meekly nodded her head in response. A deep sigh escaped Victoria's lips, and Max almost jumped when she felt the warm air caress the back of her neck. Her posture straightened itself even further, ignoring the pain in her lower back. Then, she felt a warm hand on her side. "You're uncomfortable, too," another fact stated. The brunette nodded again, almost afraid to create too much movement. She couldn't trust her own body anymore. "Hey, T, can M— uh Queerfield move next to me or something? She told me her back hurts. You gotta keep in mind that some of us have the spine of a jellyfish," Victoria said, clearly inebriated at this point. Max's suspicions were confirmed with a small burp directed into her back. Max couldn't resist how humanly cute it made her adversary.

"You idiot, jellyfish don't have spines," Taylor blurted out in a drunken fury.

"Exactly," Victoria replied with a leisurely chuckle. The brunette wanted to be offended or annoyed at the fact that Victoria basically implied that she was spineless, but she too busy trying to overcome the floating sensation that seized her body after her fourth drink.

"Yeah, okay. But, you have to let Max lay in your arms. This is a damn punishment, remember? Don't think I've forgotten for a second how much you dislike Max. We cuddle our enemies here, sugar tits," Taylor slurred with a wide grin.

"You're a fucking moron. You know that? Now get up, Queerfield, pretty sure your huge ass left a sweat stain on this ugly couch." In her hazy state, Max thrusted her body upward from the couch a bit too far and began to fall forward. "Hey!" Victoria shouted as she grabbed the brunette's hips, pulling her body onto the couch. Max fell into Victoria's body, and was introduced to her toned abs and soft breasts beneath her satin pajamas. Then, she noticed it. Against her back she could feel the blonde's heart beating heavily in her chest. Max's eyes grew wide and she felt hands firmly placed on either side of her hips gently slide her off of her lap and beside her on the couch. "Y-You really need to be more fucking careful, Shitfield," she huffed. Max propped herself up to look at her.

"I will," she said gently. The blonde frowned and looked away, she then lifted her arm up on the cushion of the couch. Max uncomfortably slid under her arm and stiffened her body. Victoria must have sensed her discomfort, because she looked down at her and lightly swatted at her shoulder.

"You can go ahead and relax. Everybody else, myself included, are too drunk to care anymore. It only matters that we're—touching," a small hiccup escaped her chest. She moistened her lips and continued, "Don't get the wrong idea though, loser. I'm not attracted to you in the slightest," the blonde said with an exaggerated nod. She then tilted her head back and rested it against the back cushion.

Max scanned the room, the others were still engaged in their game, but were completely trashed. Dana had begun yelling something in Korean causing the room to erupt in laughter. Victoria was right, no one was paying them any mind. Not even Taylor. She took this opportunity to finally relax and settled into the other woman's body. The first thing Max noticed was how delicious the blonde smelled up close. The floral fragrance was still present, but it was blended with Victoria's natural scent and the faint smell of soap. She absentmindedly nozzled herself deeper into Victoria's side. Max pulled the blanket that was draped over their legs up over her shoulders. Victoria's arm dropped down and fell across Max's shoulder. She looked up at the slender woman, carefully observing every feature on her face, and realized that she had fallen asleep. The brunette felt her heart flutter, as she noticed little traits Victoria exhibited. For example, the way her soft pink lips parted slightly while she fell deeper into sleep. Or how her breathing pattern changed every so often, almost as if she unconsciously held her breath for moments at a time. Nothing in the entire world seemed more lovely and captivating than watching Victoria Chase sleeping soundly beside her. Max couldn't even recall a time in her life where she felt as peaceful and as happy—genuinely happy as she was in that very moment. _I don't want this to end,_ the brunette thought, as she lowered her head into the woman's neck and closed her eyes. She felt Victoria's soft hands gently rub against her shoulder, before stopping and simply resting there. Even if Victoria hated Max while she was actively conscious in the world, her subconsciousness seemed pretty tolerable of the brunette to say the least. She wrapped her arm around Victoria's firm core and locked her hand gently behind her back. Their bodies almost seemed to melt into each other's as sleep took over and carried them off to another realm.

An incessant vibrating radiating from her back pocket caused Max to wake up. Her eyes squinted open as her blurred vision steadily gained focus. There were three women crunched side-by-side on a twin bed, and a slumped figure knocked out in a bean bag chair in the corner of the room. _Where the fuck am I?_ The brunette stretched into what she assumed was an amazing body pillow and released a moan of exhaustion.

A soft hand began gently stroking the length of her back in slow motions, "Go back to sleep," exhaustion laced the low husky voice of the person beneath her. Max's eyes shot open in disbelief. Satin blush pink pajamas filled her line of sight, and then it donned on her—this person beneath her, stroking her back, is Victoria Chase.

 _Oh, God._

She was too tired and admittedly still too tipsy to move, and watched in perplexed horror as the blonde groaned in agitation and slowly opened her eyes. Victoria looked down at the brunette who was locked tightly in her arms, and blinked a few times. Her manicured brows creased deeper as the recognition of their current situation came into light. Daylight, to be exact. Victoria's once peaceful expression twisted into a scowl, before she aggressively shoved Max's tiny frame off of the couch, causing her to slam into the ground. The impact made the aching migraine in the back of Max's head radiate throughout her entire cranium, a sharp gasp escaped her lips when she fell.

"What-What the fuck did you do to me, loser!?" Victoria was now standing over her breathing heavily. Her hands were clenched into tight fists causing her knuckles to turn white. Max shuffled backwards towards the center of the room, she was just as confused as Victoria, but for some reason she couldn't will herself to speak. "Answer me!" The slender blonde bellowed. The commotion caused Courtney to stir in her bed and eventually wake up. The resting bodies of Dana and Taylor on either side of her.

"Victoria," she whined with lidded eyes, "Why the hell are you shouting?"

"Because, this fucking dyke did something to me last night. I fucking know it! Ooh, I swear to God, Shitheel, if you ever cross me again I personally put you into the fucking ground. Do you understand?" Victoria hissed, a few particles of spit landed on Max's face as a result. At that point she was frozen with fear. That response certainly woke the dark haired teen up, and she quickly jumped out of bed and stood between the two of them.

"Woah Victoria, calm down. Huh? God as my witness, you two just fell asleep shortly after Max sat next to you. I remember clearly, because the girls and I joked about how peaceful you both looked."

"That's a Goddamn lie. Why in God's Green Dick would I _ever_ be comfortable enough to sleep around that fucking dyke? Let alone next to her?" Victoria spat. Her jade eyes now clouded in blind hot rage. "Huh?!" Courtney was at a loss for words, all she could do was stare at her seething friend in complete shock. She never knew her strong dislike for the tiny brunette ran so deep. Courtney was so taken aback that she barely reacted in time when Victoria lunged towards the mousy teen and snatched her ankle. Courtney smacked her friend's hand free and pushed her onto the couch with a solid shove.

"Victoria, what the fuck?! You need to get a grip! Max didn't do anything to you. You're fucking delusional." The dark haired woman stood guard as a barrier between her friends. Victoria violently slammed her fist against the couch and cursed angrily. "You're fucking drunk, V. Get a grip." She said, her voice now softer. She looked back to Max with concerned eyes. "You'd better get out of here, before she tries something again. I'm really sorry, Max. I had no idea Victoria didn't like you so much… I thought it was some petty rivalry, but I was wrong."

Max stumbled to her feet and left without a word. Everything seemed lopsided as she staggered down the hall and to her room. She received strange looks from others leaving their rooms with their shower caddies. Max leaned against the nearby wall and pulled out her phone: 7:07 AM. Class was starting soon. As soon as she returned to room, Max quickly tossed on a short sleeve shirt that was on the floor of her closet and swapped out her jeans for a dark pair of skinny jeans that hung loosely on a hanger. She didn't care about hiding her figure in that moment, her only concerns were navigating campus half drunk and steering clear of Victoria. After a quick stop by the bathroom, Max headed to class with nothing but her messenger bag and an old cup of coffee she left on her desk a couple days ago. The sun stung her eyes, upon leaving the dorms. It was at that moment did she realize why it was so important to have sunglasses. The first half of the school day went by in a daze, and it was already time to break for lunch. Even though the brunette no longer felt the staggering grip of alcohol in her system, she was still extremely exhausted and the aching sensation crawled from her neck all the way to her frontal lobe didn't help her feel any less drunk than she was earlier in the day when Victoria attacked her. She pulled out her phone and stared at the message Kate had sent her asking if she wanted to each lunch together. 'Not today. I'm skipping' she replied, and slipped the phone back into her back pocket. She could feel herself growing distant from her friend, but didn't know what she could do to stop it. Max sunk into the door of an empty class room and released a deep sigh, her eyes to the tile ceiling. Then she felt a solid grip on the collar of shirt and looked up to meet the hateful glare of her blonde nemesis. As Max's mind began to cloud with fear, she couldn't help but notice how lovely her adversary smelled—like flowers and mouthwash. The thought almost made her smile, but she was instantly plagued by shame. She winced when Victoria leaned closer to her and bore her teeth—her perfect white teeth.

"I fucking told you to never cross me again, dyke. And what the fuck do you do? Cross me." Victoria was so close to her that she could faintly smell the wine on her breath. Max's heart began drumming in her chest, as a deep burning sensation ignited in her lower abdomen. At that moment she couldn't focus on anything, but the full painted heart shaped lips that twisted angrily before her. "Why the fuck do you keep getting in my way?" Victoria rasped angrily in a low tone.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Victoria," she said in a cracked whisper. Their eyes met, and Max never realized the light amber shards that danced against the taller woman's jade irises. Their eyes remained locked, and Victoria's brows furrowed deeply while her grip on the shorter woman's collar tightened.

"You're going to be fucking sorry," she whispered harshly, and twisted the doorknob open to the dark empty room. Max stumbled backwards and caught herself on the edge of a desk. Victoria closed the door and locked it behind her. She turned around with a hateful glare and began steadily walking towards her. "I've been all talk before, but it's time you've learned your Goddamn place, you fucking gay loser," she hissed and began to chew her bottom lip. All of the blood rushed to Max's face and core, as her legs failed her allowing her to just stand frozen, sitting against the old desk. The blonde now stood over her and lifted her small frame off the desk by her collar and pushed her against the brick wall to the side of them.

"I fucking hate you," Victoria spat, her jaw began to tremble slightly but she clenched it shut. "Why the fuck do you keep getting in my way?" She asked, but her voice slightly cracked. Max briefly stared at her lips, before looking into her eyes which were now darkened from the dimly lit room. She was overwhelmed with sorrow and felt her chest tighten and ache at the taller woman's harsh words. Her eyes began to brim with tears. She lifted her head from the cool brick and slightly leaned forward.

"Why-why do you hate me, V-Victoria?" She sputtered out between gasps. Her heart was beating so fast it left her breathless. Her lips tensed, as she tried to keep her tears from overflowing. But, it was too late. "I'm sorry if I did something to make you h-hate me," her lips began to tremble. Victoria's eyes widened and she moved one of her hands from the shorter woman's now stretched out collar, and made a fist and pressed it firmly into her abdomen.

"Just shut the fuck up before I kick your skinny little ass," she rasped.

She loosened the other hand she had on Max's collar and wrapped it firmly around her neck. A gasp escaped the brunette upon feeling those slender warm fingers wrap around her throat. She suddenly became aware of the throbbing sensation between her legs. Victoria released a low growl and leaned in closer to her face, staring down at her in disgust. "You like this," she said, as if stating yet another obvious fact. Max couldn't reply to the comment, she could barely keep herself upright for that matter. She just lowered her eyes in shame, as the tears continued flowing down her freckled cheeks. "You make me sick," the tall blonde hissed. Her grip around Max's throat tightening by the second. Max gasped again, and instinctively wrapped her trembling hands around the other woman's. Harsh jade stones bore into soft sapphire crystals, and the distance between them closed. The small brunette couldn't suppress the moan that escaped her the moment their lips made full contact. Victoria wasted no time in exploring the shorter woman's mouth. She forcefully sucked on Max's bottom lip, lightly biting at it with her teeth. One of her hands remained in a tight grip on her neck, while the other possessively squeezed her ass, pulling them closer together. Max wrapped her arms around Victoria's neck and released another involuntary moan when she felt the blonde's hand leave her neck and grab her other ass cheek, rotating both in such a way that they moved against each other. The entire experience was otherworldly, as Max's mind went into pleasure induced fog and her body simply reacted to the tall blonde's touch. Victoria's tongue slid past her lips and possessively explored confines of her mouth. Max's eyes rolled back, as a shudder radiated throughout her entire body. She felt urgent hands fumbling with the zipper to her pants, to which she acquiesced by pushing her pelvis forward for easier access. The button to her pants were popped and her zipper was down in the seconds following. Victoria frustratedly pulled the rings off her left hand in an instant and dropped them on the ground below. She then slid her hand down into the elastic of the brunette's underwear and paused to release a deep throated moan, when the woman beneath her began grinding against her hand.

A throaty "fuck," escaped her lips and she kept her hand there, while Max slowly grinded against her. Victoria reclaimed Max's lips in a lustful kiss. Her manicured hand slid down past her pubic bone and with her middle finger she gently rubbed against the smaller woman's swollen bud that was already soaked in her essence. Victoria groaned into her mouth and wasted no time frantically rubbing the heated area. Max tried to muffle her cries of passion by biting down on her lip, but couldn't prevent some of the noise from leaking out. Victoria maintained a tight grip on her ass, while her hand pumped in and out of Max's pants. "You're so fucking wet," whispered into her ear in a husky voice and bit down on the tender flesh of her neck. Max hissed at the pain, but it felt amazing at the same time. Her mind was completely blank, the only sensation she could process was the carnal ecstasy that generated from her pulsating core and the beautiful women before her that brought her to such pleasure. It was all new to her, but her body instinctively knew what it wanted. She needed more.

"Please," Max moaned with her neck tossed back against the cool brick wall. Her dripping core gyrating against the tall woman's palm. Not a moment later was she met with the cool air, as Victoria pulled her pants and underwear down around her knees and inserted two fingers into her throbbing center. Victoria leaned into her and began pumping faster. The sloppy wet noises of her sex and their heavy breathing being the only audible noise.

"Cum for me," the blonde moaned into her ear. "Please," her voice cracked with emotion. Without warning, her body instantly seized, clamping down tight around the slender fingers as a white hot energy washed over her body and released itself from her core. Leaving her in a shuddering mess. Max's legs gave out beneath her, but Victoria held her body and gently laid her down against the floor. She crawled beside her and took her lips in passionate kiss. It was different than the ones they shared earlier, though. This one seemed to yearn and long for the brunette's acceptance. It almost seemed as if Victoria was trying to take in her lips, her taste, and commit them to memory. The damp hand that was just inside of her rubbed lazily along her thighs. Max looked up to the woman before and met the lidded amorous gaze of someone other than the Victoria Chase she knew. It was the loving gaze of a person who seemed to be completely enamored with her in every possible way. Although the sincere eyes appeared to be foreign, she felt like she knew they were always there behind a frosted partition. Max gently placed her hands on either side of the blonde's beautiful face and just stared at her with deep affectionate eyes. In that very moment, she felt complete.

Max parted her lips to speak, when a noisy herd of students filled the halls, ripping them from their secluded paradise. Someone briefly banged against the door, causing them both to shoot up. It was then, that she had realized the gravity of what they had just done. Victoria Chase had just taken her virginity up against a wall in an empty classroom. Max blinked a few times, then looked back up to Victoria who appeared to be frozen. Her once warm eyes, frosted over with a blank stare. The tall blonde then pushed herself from Max and continued staring at her with a vacant expression. Anger slowly spreading across her face. She twisted her mouth into a frown and glared at the brunette with disgust. Max steadied herself to her feet and pulled up her pants, her brows knitted together in concern.

"What's wrong, Victoria—?" She began, but was cut off.

"Not a fucking word of this to anyone. Not a word, or I'll kill you." Victoria's breathing was ragged.

"Wh-What?" Max was desperate. Tears began pouring from her eyes. The chatter outside seemed to only get louder, as students made their way to class.

"Not a fucking word, you-you stupid dyke." Victoria stepped towards her and pushed Max into the same brick wall she just fucked her into with a forceful shove. Upon impact Max just slumped onto the floor and began to sob quietly. "I'm not a—I'm not a fag." A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, she quickly removed it with a swipe of her wrist. Victoria left moments after, slamming the door behind her. Max sat in that dark empty room well into her next period, until it went by. When it came time for her photography class, she pulled herself into a ball and cried until she passed out on the floor. Why was this happening to her?


	4. Chapter 4: Fractured Lighting

A/N: Longest chapter yet. Sorry for the wait! I'm not even gonna ease you guys into this shitfest. Haf fun ;3

XXX

Max jolted awake. Her head was throbbing, her lips dry. The flesh surrounding her eyes were puffy and tender. She blankly scanned the room, which was now casted into darkness; accented by elongated shadows. The sun had set without her even realizing it.

 _When did I fall asleep?_

It was then that she moved to shift her weight onto her palm, and that was when she noticed how sore her knuckles were. She instead moved to her knees and gradually rose to her feet, using the nearby wall for balance. The uneven placement of her foot caused her to stepped back and revealed a small object reflecting the stale moonlight that leaked in through the blinds. She knelt down to pick it up; rolling the cool steele between her forefinger and thumb. Her mouth tensed, and her eyes began to blink slowly in attempts to offset the burning tears that threatened to spillover.

 _Victoria's ring._

She clenched it tight into her fist and moved to toss it across the room, but hesitated instead as tears made the familiar journey past her cheeks, down her neck, and onto the cold linoleum below. Her steady deep breaths now constricted in her throat, sporadic upon release. She collapsed to her knees, curling onto the floor and gasping desperately as she silently wept. Her nether regions still sore and bruised from the unexpected visitor. Oh, how she ached for her return. A cracked whimper filled the empty room. How pathetic was she to crave someone so miserable? Someone who clearly despised her as much as she despised herself? A broken wail scrapped its way from her raw dry throat, as she clawed at the ground. But, her fingers happened upon something in their path. Another ring. She propped herself up against the wall, unclenched the hand that occupied the other ring and stared at them. Her vision becoming blurred and distorted as the brimming tears gained momentum. She clenched her jaw shut and jammed the rings into her back pocket. Because—-?

 _Simply because._

Max pushed her thoughts to the abstract crevices of her mind, and languidly pulled out her phone, her eyes pinched shut momentarily at the harsh glare of the screen. They squinted open.

 **7:28 PM.**

 **Four percent battery.**

 **5 unread messages.**

Her thumbs ghosted over the touchpad, but it suddenly began to vibrate harshly, indicating an incoming call. Warren. She connected the line and silently held it to her ear.

"Max, are you alright? Where are you? I've been trying to reach you all afternoon," he paused. "M-Max?" She sat silently for several seconds, before running a sweaty hand through her hair. Her lips trembling.

"Warren," she cracked in a whisper.

"Max, what's going on? Where are you?" Urgency gripped his voice. He sounded concerned; serious. Very much unlike himself. Was her situation so dire that it warranted such a tone? Did it warrant any action whatsoever? She stared vacantly ahead at the barren desks.

"Literary Hall. Classroom E," she mumbled, barely above a whisper.

Warren told her to be patient and that he would be there soon. Max simply let her arm fall, letting the phone drop to her side once the call was ended. She rested her head against the cool brick wall behind her and closed her eyes. They stung when she was forced to open them again at the sound of the classroom door being flung open revealing her best friend. She couldn't hear anything he said, only registered the look of heartbreak on his boyish features, as he rushed to her side and tried helping her to her feet. He gently grabbed her shoulders, yelling gargled words with tears in his eyes. She just started at him, not even moving to indicate she could understand what he was saying. Her actions weren't deceptive, though. She didn't understand. He might as well have been speaking underwater. After multiple failed attempts at getting her to communicate, Warren motioned her to his back and gingerly carried her out of the school. The night air filtered through her senses and lifted some of the mental fog. She released a heavy breath and slightly gripped at the broad shoulders beneath her.

"Thank you," she whispered solomenly.

Warren looked over his shoulder with a smile. "Anytime."

Max was startled awake by a gentle shake of her arm. Her eyes focused to see Warren, anguish evident in lines creasing his brow and corners of his mouth. The serious tone that was present over the phone, now reflected in his large brown eyes. He reached over to unfasten her seatbelt.

"I'm walking you to your room," he said evenly. There were no traces of the boy who could barely invite her out to the drive-in to see an old 80's flick; that boy was long gone. She stared at him carefully, then nodded. "Okay," he said, and rounded the car to get her door.

He tenderly ushered her up the stairs from behind with an outreached hand near her back for support. Max stumbled over her own feet a few times on their way up, and he was able to steady her every time. At the door Warren struggled trying to maneuver the access key card to get them inside, and unfortunately couldn't prevent the brunette from falling forward. He quickly caught her by the abdomen as she fell forward and promptly pulled her up to his side with the door propped open by his leg. Max meekly lifted her head to look down the hall and met the cerulean gaze of Dana Ward, who had just left her room. She had her hair down with towel and a bottle of soap in her hand, indicating that she was headed to the restroom. Worry gripped her features as she quickly looked over to Warren and rushed to their aid by holding the door open to let them pass through.

"Holy shit. What happened, Max?" she said in a shaken tone. When the brunette was unresponsive, she looked up to Warren. "What happened to her?"

"I'm not sure," he said solemnly. "I'm taking her to her room, though. Mind giving me a hand?"

He motioned for Dana to grab the drooping brunette which she acquiesced by propping her arms over her shoulder. They moved slowly and deliberately down the hall with each step, and as they passed the restrooms, Kate Marsh was just exiting with her shower caddy in hand. Her eyes grew wide with pain when she noticed the photographer's slouched form and she quickly rushed over to her side.

"Oh, no. Wh-What happened here?" she pleaded quietly. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks. Warren told her what he knew, which wasn't much and she slightly raised her voice in protest. "That answer isn't very helpful at all. Max, are you able to tell me what's wrong?" Her voice sounded thick with desperation.

"She won't answer. I know as much as you know, Kate," the dark haired ginger said solemnly as she reached for Max's key card in her pocket to grant them access into the room. While they were moving the brunette inside, a door from across the hall opened abruptly. All eyes snapped back to sharp jade stones that glared from at them from a distance.

"Is it too much to ask for a little peace and—-" Victoria fell silent, slowly poking her head through the cracked door. Her eyes fell upon the sunken photographer and her reaction was indecipherable. She just stared at them while they moved her into her room.

Max was barely conscious throughout the entire ordeal. Her very soul felt tapped dry of all its vigor, while her emotions laid barren, as well. The comforting touches of Kate removing her socks and tucking her into bed helped settle the tension building through her aching joints. She heard raised voices from outside her door. Much couldn't be deciphered aside from one; Victoria's. But, before she could place the burdensome weight of what she could possibly be yelling at on her mind, she had already drifted off to sleep.

When Max arose the next day, her head was throbbing. The tissue around her eyes felt bruised and swollen, as she attempted to blink away the lingering sleep. Max groaned as she sat up in her bed and leaned over to check her phone. She noticed the full battery of which she didn't remember charging, and a night shirt on that she didn't remember putting on. _Fuck_. Another groan. She couldn't make heads of anything, until she looked at her phone and saw the slew of messages from concerned friends. It was in that moment that the events from yesterday crashed into her mind like a freight train. Her body seized and breathing hitched, as tears flowed involuntarily from her eyes. At that very moment she didn't want to exist, that way she didn't have to think about it; be reminded of it. "It" being the fact that she wanted the beautiful and poise Victoria Chase to possess her flesh again—-to bruise her skin and infect her mind. Her soul needed it; her body ached for it. She bit down on her trembling bottom lip; completely mortified and appalled by her own thoughts. Disgusted that she could fancy such a thing and welcome more of it without hesitation. The lithe blonde had treated her with such contempt and vile behaviour, and yet she wanted more. Why? Why would anyone want more?

 _Why do I want more?_

She chewed on the flesh tucked between her teeth and whimpered quietly, as the tears once again streamed down her face. The vibrating of her phone caught her attention, and it was only then that she noticed the time.

 **5:34 PM.**

 **4 Missed Calls.**

 **16 Text Messages.**

Forty eight hours ago and she might have cared and may have even been embarrassed by the fact that she slept through an entire school day, but present Max Caulfield couldn't care less and proved so by falling back into her scratchy single-thread count sheets and pulling the covers over past her head; once again falling into unconsciousness. A sharp knocking at her door stirred the brunette from her restless slumber. She groaned loudly and threw one of her six pillows at the door to punctuate her irritation.

"Maxine, please open the door," the soft voice said in an firm, yet concerned manner.

"Go away, Kate," she rasped. Max knew that the dirty blonde only used her full name to express the severity of the situation, but she didn't have the energy to talk let alone move. She locked a pillow over her head and pulled her knees tightly into her core. The knocking resumed.

"I'm not going anywhere, Maxine. You can't push me away. Not after last night," the small dove stated firmly. She knocked again. "Please open this door—-" Kate was then cut off by the sound of the deadbolt unlocking and the door barely cracking open. "Maxine please," she pleaded. The brunette offered a little more space through the gap, but peered through defiantly with tired blue eyes. "Okay, _Max_. Please let me in." Max finally pulled the door open and went back to mass of blankets and pillows waiting for her on the bed. Kate quietly shut the door behind her and looked at her friend with reddened eyes. Max could tell that she had been recently crying, too. "What happened?" She inquired softly.

"Nothing," Max responded. Her voice was weak, like her resolve. It made her sick.

"Yesterday wasn't nothing!" The tone of Kate's voice almost caused the brunette to jump, she never knew that she could get so loud. Sound so upset. She lowered her gaze in response. "I know you have been going through a lot with trying to move past what Zach did to you at that party, and I've been trying to support you by giving you the space you need, but—-" she clenched her jaw to still the emotion building in her voice. It didn't help. "But, after seeing you being carried down the hall by Dana and W-Warren, of all people, and looking as miserable as you did, please don't tell me nothing is the matter with you when something is clearly wrong," her voice trembled and cracked. Hands shaking, as the tears finally burst from her soft hazel eyes. Max felt the familiar warm liquid trail down her cheeks, as well, and onto the blankets bundled tightly around her. She didn't like seeing Kate like this. It made her feel even more miserable. She avert her gaze and moistened her lips. They felt dry.

"I-I can't tell you, Kate," she whimpered behind tears. "It's too—-It's too much. Max pinched her eyes shut to push back the tears, but it only made them flow more heavily.

She gasped loudly and buried her head into her hands and began to sob. Kate moved over to the bed and sat across from Max, and leaned forward to envelope her in a warm hug. Max leaned into the embrace and cried harder, sniffing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry," she wheezed. Kate placed a hand behind her head and massaged it gently, soothing her with kind words and telling her that everything was going to be alright. They stayed that way, until the brunette found solace and drifted off to sleep once more. When she eventually woke up, she was greeted by Kate's warm smile. Apparently the dirty blonde stayed next to her in bed watching over her as she slept. Max felt considerably better with her around, and shifted herself up, leaning against the barrier of pillows propped up against the wall. A lump formed in her throat.

"It was V-Victoria," she said barely above a whisper. Kate's demeanor remained static, causing the brunette to furrow her brows slightly out of confusion.

"I had a feeling it had something to do with her," Kate said firmly, her tone still soft. She looked over, causing them to lock eyes. Burnt hazel meeting chipped sapphire. "You don't have to explain anything else. Knowing it was—-that girl is explanation enough." A kind smile revealed itself. "Thanks for confiding in me this much. I'll always be here for you. You're my best friend."

Max felt her heart flutter. "You're my best friend, too," the smile on her face indicating the heartfelt appreciation radiating from within her. She was beaming. _I'll never push my friends away again._ The atmosphere around them shifted from morose to lighthearted. It wasn't long until shedded tears were replaced with laughter and their frowns replaced with incandescent smiles. The evening was going well, and Max was cautiously optimistic about the rest of the night concluding in a similar manner. Kate was in the middle of telling a story that involved Warren's prepubescent squeaking during closing school announcements earlier that day. Max followed up with a comment about how he was essentially a walking man-child, since he looked much younger than he actually was.

"That's awful Max," Kate giggled modestly into her hand. "He kind of does resemble a man-child, though."

"All you have to do is splice Colin Firth with an actual baby and you have Warren Grant," the bemused smile consuming her face made her small friend laugh even harder. She paused. Briefly consumed by her thoughts. "All jokes aside though, Warren really helped me out last night," her tone lower, softer. "He carried me to his car and brought me back here." Max met her companion's soft gaze. "It's thanks to you guys that I'm not still sleeping in that classroom." A nervous chuckle forced itself from her throat, causing her to almost wince immediately after. Max noticed the flicker of pain that flashed across Kate's eyes, before she cleared her throat and quickly averted them elsewhere. Max knew she shouldn't have brought that up, because she wasn't ready to talk about it yet. But, Kate had already picked up on her slip up and tried to push past it.

"Warren actually did something really amazing last night," the dirty blonde looked down into her lap momentarily, before returning her gaze. "Victoria started complaining as we were trying to help get you to bed. And, after you were put to sleep she started arguing with Warren. Yelling at him, demanding to know why he was in the girls' dorm. I could tell that he was trying to control his temper in the calm manner that he was addressing her, you know? He told her pretty much what happened, and how he was helping you back into your room. And," Kate paused with worry beginning to line her forehead. "And she screamed at him, Max. Actually got in his face and screamed; she was enraged." Max felt her as if her stomach just collapsed into itself, as anxiety made a cameo appearance in her throbbing heart and sweating palms.

"Why was she screaming at him?" The words slipped from her mouth in a barely decipherable murmur. Even with Victoria being nowhere in sight, she still had a jarring impact on her.

"That's the thing, I don't know what made her so upset that she was yelling. I mean sure, boys aren't allowed up here, but he was helping you get to your room safely, and was even on his way out." She shot Max a look of concern. "I just remember her telling him to leave, before she called security to have him physically removed. That wasn't even the worst part, either. As Warren was moving to leave, Victoria said the most inappropriate thing," the dirty blonde covered her mouth momentarily.

"What did she say?" Max was leaning towards her now. Anticipation evident in her voice.

Kate looked distressed, but pressed through it. "She said—-I'm going to paraphrase. She something along the lines of you two being together romantically, and that you both need to find appropriate times to consort that doesn't get everyone involved in your business. She then implied that you were a s-sex worker, Max." Her voice withdrew as she placed her small hands back over her mouth. She took a deep breath, then removed them with pinched brows. "This made Warren incredibly upset, understandably, and he began arguing with her relentlessly. They were shouting back and forth—-practically standing on top of each other yelling angrily at the other's face. Dana and I thought they were going to, you know, get physical. So we tried calming them down, and all the while some of the other girls wandered out into the hall to see what was going on."

"Fuck—-I mean" Max sputtered awkwardly. She knew how much Kate didn't like it when she cursed around her.

"No, you're right!" Kate chimed, her eyes grew wide. "It was an awful situation. I don't know how long Dana and I were trying to get them to calm down—-Victoria even slapped her hand away when she got too close!" She gasped. "I was both afraid for Warren and also relieved when the security guard finally showed up to break up the argument."

"You mean that guy with the creepy-stalker mustache, David?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah, him. He immediately defused the situation and escorted Warren out of the building. And, you know, after they were gone Dana tried talking to Victoria, but she said something awful before slamming the door in her face." Max noticed how recounting the story made her friend so upset that her cheeks became flushed. "That Victoria Chase is truly despicable, you know that?"

"Yeah," the brunette responded quietly. She stared blankly into the corner of the room, lost in thought. Kate's story was awful, it made her upset how Victoria treated her friends and only confirming what she knew to be true about the blonde. But, it did nothing to change the way her heart ached so desperately to be near her once again. The way she had looked into her eyes after their encounter—-longing for her acceptance. A shiver traveled down her spine. She should be angry at the revered Queen Bee; she should hate her. And yet, she helplessly clung onto the shard of hope that sliced into her the night before. It all made her sick to her stomach. Kate left soon after, she apparently had a tea date set up with Alyssa Anderson later on and still had to shower.

"Text me later?" She said warmly, pausing at the door and looking over her shoulder. Max nodded slowly. "Also, please check your messages. I'm not the only one who's been trying to reach you." A tired smile curved onto her lips.

"I will."

Max dedicated the rest of her evening locked away in her room, but rather than sleeping precious time away she sat attentive in her bed pouring over several notes from class. A few classmates that lived in the dorms were kind enough provide her with their notes for the weekend. It was Friday night after all, who needed their notes when they knew they were going to be out partying all night? Max was currently fixated over the guidelines for the "Everyday Heroes" photo contest for Jefferson's class. His phrasing of it being "involuntary" tolled through her mind, along with the unsatisfying belief that there was nothing heroic about her. How was she going to capture herself doing something heroic? Then, the font jumped at her: "best represented themselves _or others_ in heroic action." A smile made its way across her lips.

"Now all I need to do is wander the city for hours, until I capture something heroic," her smile dropped. "What a way to spend my entire weekend."

She slid off her bed and lightly stretched. After slipping on some boy shorts, she went down the hall to the restroom. Having a diet that consisted of alcohol, freeze dried snack food and old coffee, really did a number on her digestive system and forced to stay in longer than expected. She was in the process of pulling the stall door open, when the sound of someone barging through the bathroom door caused her to freeze. She wasn't sure why she did, it was just how her body reacted. _It'll be alright, Max._ She tried to settle the anxiety twisting in her stomach. A raised whisper caused her body to tense, as she just stood with the stall door locked in her now sweaty grip.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" The voice strained into the phone with a silent hiss. Max's body went cold, turning the warm blood coursing through her veins into an icy slush.

 _It's her._

Every emotion cluttering her mind immediately built up behind her eyes. Her breathing turning shallow.

"I'm not upset!" The blonde snapped into the phone. She released a meditative breath. "I'm not upset. I just wish I knew ahead of time that you were coming. I need to—-prepare." She sounded stressed out, agitated. All of the words that are typically used to describe Victoria Chase, but multiplied by fifteen. Max could hear the click of her heels against the tile as she paced the floor. "No, I'm not raising my voice at you. I'm—-" she paused briefly. " _I've_ just had a trying week, and you know, a heads up about you returning would have made things easier."

Max stood tightly gripping the bathroom stall door, as warm tears poured from her eyes. She gently pressed her head into the cool metal and bit down on her sore bottom lip to prevent herself from making noise. It all hurt too much and she couldn't take it.

 _A trying week?_

Despite it being Victoria Chase, she still couldn't believe what she was hearing. All she was to the adroit photographer was a faulty hiccup; an unfortunate blip.

Victoria audibly sucked her teeth. "Sweet fucking Christ on a Thursday, Nathan, I am not raising my voice at you."

 _Nathan?_

Max had no idea what was or wasn't running through her mind that triggered her weight falling into the door and accidentally slamming it shut with such force that it ricocheted throughout the acoustic room. Not even the slightest clue. But, she soon became acutely aware of the deafening sound that followed when Victoria's pacing ceased.

"Who's there?" Her voice sliced through the air. "Come the fuck out right now, if you don't want my fist breaking every one of the fourteen bones in your goddamn face." Max could barely see through the deluge of anxiety and fear warping through her body and tearing from her eyes. "The jig is fucking up. I know you're in here," she said thickly, her tone laced with venom. Max clenched her eyes shut, as she moved to pull open the stall door.

"Dude, why the fuck are you yelling bloody murder in the bathroom of all places?" The voice was that of Taylor Christensen, who sounded like she had just entered from the showering hall. Silence sat between them. "Well, it's nice to know that you're always consistent," Taylor snipped, the squeak of her flip flops marking her path as she moved to exit the bathroom. Victoria's heels clicked after her.

"Wait, T. I'm sorry, I thought you were some rando or something." She paused. "Hey, did you by any chance, uh, hear anything?"

"Oh, of course, Victoria. Because, the only reason I'm even here isn't to shower or use the bathroom, but to eavesdrop on you and gather pointless information." A cynical laugh rung out. "Oh and this towel? A fucking ruse. I'm actually fully clothed, wanna see?" The sarcasm in the other girl's voice was evident.

Victoria released an exaggerated groan. "I get it already, T. God, shut up already. I've been sleeping like shit for the past few days."

"Oh, yeah? Is randomly attacking a certain hipster finally weighing down on your conscious?" Taylor inquired with a bold chuckle. But, that was quickly ended by a sharp banging noise that echoed throughout restroom.

"Watch your goddamn mouth," the Queen Bee of Blackwell hissed.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Taylor said. She hesitated before speaking up again, her voice picking up to its original tone. "But, think about it from my end, huh? I was just wrapping up from a nice shower, taking my time drying off, enjoying the peace. Then out of literally nowhere I hear you screaming like a fucking lunatic. I mean, seriously who just threatens to break every bone in a person's face?"

"Fucking me, that's who." Victoria's tone was lighter, but the threat remained. "Now, let's get out of this shit hole." Their steps receded out into the hall. "Also, hurry up and get dressed if you still plan on going to the bonfire with me."

"Yeah, Yeah. Just give me a minute to—-" Taylor's voice faded away the further they got down the hall.

Max finally emerged from the stall clenching her chest. She desperately tried to calm the massive rise and fall of her chest by taking slow deliberate breaths. After washing her hands, the brunette quickly slipped back to the safety of her room.

A few hours of productivity came and went with the brunette zeroed in on various assignments. As her break came around, she took a satisfying gulp from her water bottle, placed it back on her night stand, then glanced at her phone. 10:46 PM. She brushed a thumb pensively across her lips. _Do I want to go out tonight?_ Her eyes fell back on the mess of papers and books thrown across her bed; her brows pinched together slightly. A blonde pixie cut with feathered bangs briefly flashed across her mind. Those jade stones that carried light flakes of amber made her heart leap. Her lips curved into a delicate smile, as she fantasized about the soft bow shaped lips that crashed into her own. A soft gasp escaped parted lips accompanied by the tingling sensation radiating from deep below her abdomen. But, there was suddenly a tightening in her chest. That conversation she had overheard. Who was the guy she was arguing with? Nathan? Nathan who?

 _Nathan Prescott_ , the tiny voice in her head answered pointedly. For the almost two months that Max had been attending Blackwell Academy, she never once met the infamous Nathan Prescott. She only knew the weight his name carried not only throughout the halls of the prestigious arts school, but throughout the entirety of Arcadia Bay. The Prescotts owned everyone, and everything as far as the photographer was concerned. Before she had even stepped into the frame, Nathan Prescott was expelled for either trafficking drugs on campus or sexual misconduct. The rumor mill, namely the Blackwell Totem, was to blame for leaking such incongruous information. But, it mattered not to Max Caulfield. She had more pressing concerns. Like, what was Victoria's connection with Nathan Prescott? Were the stale rumours of them dating true? What was the status of their relationship—-romantic or otherwise? The tightening in her chest persisted. _I'm going to that bonfire,_ she thought with an air of finality. She couldn't shake the sinking suspicion that Nathan was going to be there. _So I'll be there, too_.

She pulled out her phone again, and clicked open the chat thread with Taylor Christensen. She hesitated for a few seconds, before typing out:

 _Hey, Taylor. Max here. I heard rumors about a bonfire party tonight? Is that open to the public?_

Max stared at the message for what seemed like hours, until she willed herself to press send on the touchpad. A few minutes later, her phone vibrated with a reply.

 **Taylor:** hey max! there's def a bonfire party going down! im surprised that u arent at that horror movie night thing though. but feel free to come on down! bring a friend if ud like (10:55 PM)

A smile made its way across her face. She opened up a separate chat thread:

 **Max:** Hey, Kate. Are you free to go out tonight? :D (10:55 PM)

 **Kate:** Max! I knew you'd text. :3 Sure, I'm up for some fun! Where does our adventure await? (10:57 PM)

 **Max:** Ever been to a bonfire before? B) (10:58 PM)

 **Kate:** :0 ! (10:58 PM)

In less than hour, Max and Kate were dressed and taking a Lyft down to the beach where the party was probably kicking into high gear. She fidgeted around anxiously in her seat. Watching the town blur passed in a frenzy of colors could only occupy her thoughts for so long. She began to bounce her knee in a manner that drew a concerned glance from her angelic companion.

"Hey, if going to this thing is what's making you worry so much, we can always go back to the room. I'm perfectly fine with that" Kate offered in a generous tone.

The brunette tore her attention from the window and looked at her friend. "It's not that Kate, I guess I'm just tired," she sighed. "I think the best thing for me right now is this, you know? Being outside—-being social. The last thing that I need right is to be cooped up in my room. The fresh air is nice." She tried to offer a convincing smile, but noticed the wearied look it received.

"Okay, fine," Kate said after studying the brunette momentarily. "But, we have to stick together no matter what. Can you give me that?" Max rolled her eyes in good nature, trying to prompt a smile or a chuckle from her friend. "I'm serious, _Maxine_."

"Yes, I promise," she relented. "If we get separated for any reason whatsoever, either I'll call you or you call me."

"Would you even pick up, though? You haven't been answering any of my calls recently." Although Kate's voice was matching the light tone of hers, Max knew she wasn't kidding around. She inwardly winced.

"There's no excuse for that. I'm sorry, Kate. I promise I'll pick up from now on."

"Text messages, too?" She inquired with a raised brow.

"Text messages, too," Max said with a smile.

 _There are way more people here than I expected,_ Max thought anxiously as she and Kate tried to maneuver through a crowd of elbows. It was so overwhelming that the mild-mannered dirty blonde even stopped a few times to tell a nameless teen how rude it was to bump into someone without apologizing. Max then found herself in the impossible position of being the one to mediate each encounter gone wrong, and trying to calm her down. Which was very weird, because Kate Marsh wasn't a confrontational person; she was passive aggressive if anything. Kate then snapping at someone who accidentally stepped on her foot was the breaking point for the brunette. She whipped around to face her friend, gripping her wrist loosely.

"What is going on with you tonight, Kate?"

"Wh-What? Nothing is going on with me," she stuttered.

Max's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "Oh my God, you're actually lying right now. What a weird night this is turning out to be," she shrugged broadly with an incredulous smirk. Her friend released a deep sigh and pushed her hands into the pockets of her khaki peacoat.

"Fine, I lied. I'm sorry, okay? But, I did it for a good reason," she huffed, bright hazel eyes illuminated by the fire roaring in the distance. Max gave her an expectant look. She sighed again. "I saw—-I saw someone that I'm not very fond of," she said vaguely.

"Who could you not like so much that you'd actually lie to me?" The brunette asked, the nonplussed inclination in her tone evident by the crease of her brow. Kate gave her a knowing look with a slight tilt of her head, but she wasn't connecting the dots. "Who are you—-?" Then suddenly it clicked, her face suddenly ashen. "So, she's here."

The dirty blonde only nodded in response. Max couldn't tell if she was having a panic attack or just anxious by the rate her heart shifted into overdrive and began beating at an impossible rate that rivaled the stars in the sky. All she could do in that moment was remind herself to blink and not hold her breath. Kate's mouth slanted into a frown.

"Max, if her being here is too much for you, then we should just—"

She abruptly cut her off and pointed at the grey vehicle parked several meters from them on the other side of the bonfire. "See that SUV there? I'm almost certain that it has something that will keep both of us distracted by that person's existence." Kate followed her line of sight and pinched her brows together, frowning even more.

With some persuasion and down right charismatic charm, Max was able to to talk her short companion into allowing her to drink, not both of them of them, though. Kate decided on the cranberry juice that the underaged bartender was mixing into alcoholic beverages, while Max decided on a vodka cranberry. They moved over to go sit on one of the many logs that surrounded the fire pit and tried talking about anything else not pertaining to the tall blonde elephant that lingered nearby. After two refills of the brunette's makeshift cocktail and one refill of the shorter teen's punch, a thick silence sat between them as they absent-mindedly stared into the fire. Kate suddenly shot up to announce that she was going to find somewhere to use the restroom.

"Oh, I can go with you if you want," Max offered languidly, her second drink already taking effect. Kate just gave her a look, before pointedly declining and saying that she would return soon. But before turning to leave she strongly suggested that the brunette not move from her spot while she was away. Max agreed, and decided to pass the time by pacing herself on her third drink. As she looked around, she noticed that she didn't recognize that many people aside from a familiar face she would often see in the halls of Blackwell. _I definitely need to get out more,_ she concluded as she downed the remnants of her beverage in a single gulp.

Once Max finished her drink, she started grow restless and began to scan the crowd searching for light hair pulled into high bun and the long black scarf that she snuggly wrapped around her neck. After what Max could only assume to have been minutes, she finally rose from her spot and began walking around to see if she could spot Kate, or at the very least refill her drink in the process. The music that was being blasted from the multiple stereos positioned around the main area picked up in tempo, causing the mass of drunk minors to stir. She groaned at the fact that her mobility was now reduced to squeezing past shoulders and pointed elbows. It took an entire song, but when she finally emerged from the crowd the music had somehow managed to become further away before she decided to get up.

"How the fuck did I manage to do this to myself?" She drawled with a sigh. Not only was she further from another refill, but now she was almost certain that she might not be able to reunite with Kate. The size of the party had to of at least doubled since their arrival. After all it wasn't just any bonfire, it was a Vortex bonfire; meaning it was the who's who of Arcadia Bay's youth—-which actually sounded pretty lame now that Max thought about it. She absently jammed her hands into the breast pockets of her retro black denim jacket, and felt the impression of her phone. "Dude, I have a phone. Of course! I should probably call Kate," she said ironically, not even allowing herself to get in the space to process the detrimental impact that her new dependency on alcohol has had on her behaviorally. "Maybe another day," she sighed, as pulled up her friend's contact information.

Max stared vacantly into the crowd while she waited for the call to connect. But, that's when an illuminated slender form caught her attention. Her heart doubled over in chest. She almost couldn't believe it—-Victoria Chase. In all of her poised beauty leaning casually against a solid boulder with a cigarette loosely gripped between her middle and forefinger. The blonde was engaged in a conversation with some faceless person Max couldn't even will herself to pay any mind to. A muffled laugh escaped the lithe goddess, and Max didn't even realize when a smile had curved onto her lips, as well. Her feet began to move on their own accord; unintentionally drawing her closer to the revered Queen Bee. Alerted to her presence, eclipsed jade stones flickered over to the brunette, clipping her laughter. The jovial smile that was once present on the taller woman's face was now replaced with lips that were parted in surprise. The chatter of her companion died down, as well.

"Wh-What are you...doing here?" Victoria asked, almost as if she was in disbelief. It was now the second time that the brunette had ever caught the Queen of Blackwell by surprise, and Max couldn't even react appropriately. Of course she heard her question, although she wouldn't have if it wasn't for the fact that she was staring intently at her lips while she was talking, but that didn't mean that she was in the space to respond. "Well? Are you going to fucking answer me?" Victoria's speech was considerably slurred. It didn't carry the accompanying punch that one might expect.

The guy who was standing next to the blonde stepped towards Max. "Yeah, are you going to 'fucking' answer her? By the way who is this?" He pointed at the brunette with his drinking hand as he turned to face her. Max gave him a cursory once over, noting his coiffed dark hair and athletic build. She had never seen this guy before, but was sure that he was a good friend of the tall blonde just by the way he interacted with her.

"Nobody worth mentioning," Victoria snipped. Her arms were now locked across her chest. The guy responded with a conspiratorial hum.

"No, I don't think so," an inflection of childlike curiosity palpable in his tone. Max shuddered involuntarily. He made her feel uncomfortable and she couldn't place why. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you and this mouse have a history, maybe?" A predatory smile warped his face. Victoria shifted against the boulder she was leaning against, her unease very noticeable to the brunette.

"Nothing like that," she muttered. "Just some rando-hipster from class."

"Ah, so I was right," he said proudly. "I thought I knew anyone worth knowing, but I guess not." An insincere smile lit up his face. "In any case, I'm Nathan Prescott. It's a pleasure to meet you—-?" Nathan stopped in the middle of his introduction and gave Max an expectant look. The swift movement of his hand extending towards her almost made her jump. She did not like the energy this guy was giving off.

"Uh, Max. Max Caulfield," she said awkwardly and extended her hand in a like matter. His hand locked around hers in almost a painfully tight grip, making her feel temporarily trapped even though the exchange only lasted a few seconds.

"Well, the pleasure is all mine, Max." His smile thinned. She felt herself wince as she retracted her hand. Everytime he smiled or laughed, there always seemed to be a disconnect. Like the action never reached his eyes. _Why is Victoria friends with this guy?_ She thought.

But.

Wait.

 _Could it be THAT Nathan?_

Max's mind immediately went to the conversation she overheard Victoria having in the restroom earlier that night. Of course it was that Nathan Prescott. _There aren't fucking two of them,_ she rationalized.

A familiar aching throb tightened her chest, but she attempted shaking off the feeling. She was too drunk to just react to every thought that popped in her head. She didn't know why, but she got the overwhelming sense that if she had, then Nathan would've pick up on it. Another involuntary shudder tripped down the length of her spine. He made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Victoria took a long drag from her cigarette. "Just get the hell out of here," she insisted while exhaling a plume of smoke into the sky. Max didn't know if she actually picked up on the urgency that underscored her tone or if she had just imagined it. But, when she saw how wide the blonde's eyes grew as she gritted her teeth she realized that must it must have been the case. "I said move it, Queerfield!" She barked.

An incredulous sound resembling a laugh punctured the sky.

"Holy shit, Max is into the ladies, huh?" Nathan's smile was predatory. He closed the distance between he and the short brunette, giving her the sinking sensation that he was peering down at her even though he was only a few inches taller. The pale glint of the moonlight coupled with the rusted glow of the fire, obscured his face and blackened his eyes. Max found herself averting her gaze, doing anything in her power to avoid direct eye contact. "Now that's something I have a problem with," his voice was deceptively low. "I could almost get over the fact that your social status is almost nonexistent, but I don't see the benefit in supporting behaviour so—-unnatural." He motioned his hand in such a way to depict that he was gathering his thoughts.

Max nervously stepped back, his presence now suffocating. "I'm actually not—-"

"Not what?" He cut her off again. "Not an abomination? I hope for your sake you're not, because unlike other people who tolerate that—-I don't." He paused briefly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Hey, remember that time in the Bible when God literally wiped out an entire city, because it was infested with those people? Well, I like to think of myself as providing a similar service here. Do you understand what I'm saying to you, Max?" He tilted his head tilted forward, another smile distorted by the fractured lighting. "That wasn't rhetorical. I need you to answer me."

Without missing a beat, the brunette managed to choke out a response, before her mental integrity took a nosedive. Everything about Nathan Prescott gave off the sense of inescapability. From his obstructed dark eyes to the clandestine curve of his lips; his very existence made every nerve in her body feel as if it were replaced by broken glass—-internally scrapping and tearing along her insides until they were completely raw. Whatever remained of her survival instincts were imploring that she leave immediately, however, her feet remained fixed in the sand; as if it were sucking her in. During her internal outcry, a taller guy with a similar athletic build was suddenly next to them.

"What the fuck is this lying bitch doing here, man?" Zach Riggins whined in a drunken slur. "Dude, you know this is that fucking bitch that got me benched for the rest of season! I kept telling her that I didn't want a blow job, and she turned around and starting acting like a fucking victim." He pointed at her aggressively, then whipped around to face Victoria who was busy trying to light the cigarette pinched between her lips. "And that was when 'Queen fucking Bitch' here blindsided me."

"Hey, watch who you're pointing at, you thick-fuck," Victoria pushed herself forward and started at the jock, but Nathan put up his hand signalling for her to stop. He then slowly pointed towards the brunette.

" _This_ is the girl that got you suspended from the team?" His voice was unnaturally clear for someone who came off as drunk only a few minutes prior. Zach nodded emphatically.

"Yeah, that's fucking her. I'd never forget that shit."

Nathan turned back towards her. His charming facade completely unhinged and replaced by a calloused glare. He released an exaggerated sigh of disapproval. "You're not leaving a very good impression on me, Max." He shook his head, mocking distress. "I really wanted for us to come to some sort of understanding, but now you're forcing my hand."

Max looked between them, desperation reflected in her fearful eyes. She was now over her head and unable to escape. Her insides twitched and coiled with anguish. Why did she keep getting herself into these situations? She briefly looked over to Victoria who was taking a final drag from her cigarette before flicking it to the ground and walking over.

"Okay, let's all just take a second to breathe, huh? Forget her. We're all here to have a good time and relax, right? So, why not just let her leave and finish getting drunk? Shit, I'm about to get another drink right now." Victoria sounded relatively clear minded, but Max could tell that her demeanor was off. Almost awkward, like she was uncomfortable. Nathan interjected by rapidly shaking his head before pointedly putting up his finger in her direction. He pivoted from Max to face her.

"No, no, no, no," he said repeatedly, shaking his head. "Is something—-Is something going on between you two?" A humourless smile threaded across his lips, as he chuckled crudely pointing between the women.

"What? Fuck no," The blonde blurted out indignantly. She nervously cleared her throat. "You already know that I'm not into that shit, I just think it's a waste of time spending so much damn energy on her." Her voice voice was uneven. Nathan eyed her skeptically. Victoria held his gaze.

"Yeah fucking right!" Zach began to gesture wildly with his arm causing his drink to spill over. "I remember how you 'came to her rescue' that night," he twisted his face, eggerating a pout. "If you ask me she wanted to fuck her all along! Don't fall for that shit, Nate Dawg!" He puffed his chest and proudly raised his drink in the air.

"Oh, give me a break, you lumpy fucking bag of meat. You're a god damn pervert and you know it! Don't even try putting up a front, because literally no one on this side of the planet would _ever_ let you fuck them with your nubby baby dick." Victoria spat at his feet in disgust. Zach squared his shoulders, and stepped into the blonde's face, his posture aggressive.

"Oh, I'll show you my dick alright. Force it down your fucking throat," he growled.

"So you happen to carry a magnifying glass and dick pump with you everywhere? Because that's literally the only fucking way that anything you just said could ever be physically possible."

"Fuck you," the quarterback spat.

A indecipherable smirk faintly tugged at the socialite's mouth. Max was aghast at discovering how much he was clearly enjoying the heated exchange. Their raised voices drew the attention of nearby Vortex members who were clustered together a little further down. Some of them wandered over to see what could be causing all of the comotion.

"Hey, everything good here, bro?" Called out the concerned voice of Vortex Club member and party boy, Hayden Jones, who casually wandered over into their small circle with a bottle of beer in either hand. Nathan didn't even acknowledge his question, and instead looked to Zach who was still locked into a death stare with Victoria. "Everything good here, Zach?" He asked in a bemused manner.

"Only if I get to knock some sense into this bitch," he rasped. His shoulders rose and fell steadily with his deep breaths.

"No can do," Nathan laughed apologetically. He motioned to Max with his thumb. "But, you can knock some sense into that one over there. I have no affiliation with her."

"Fine by me," Zach said and turned to face the brunette.

Max took several large steps back, as she began gasping wildly for air. She couldn't even run away like she wanted to, because her body wasn't responding well to her fear induced anxiety attack. The only reason she was able to move at all was because the wind was quite literally knocked out of her.

"Wait, what?" Hayden said with uneasy smile. "You guys are joking, right? You can't just hit a girl, man. She's not even doing anything—-you're not going to really hit her right?"

"Know your place," Nathan warned in a low voice, his eyes never breaking from Zach.

"Hold the fuck on," a voice interjected. Max suddenly felt a hand push her back lightly, and Victoria suddenly stood before her as a buffer. "This shit is is getting out of hand. Zach, you can't just hit someone because you're fucking upset," Victoria grimaced.

"Oh, as much as I'd like to entertain this, you already heard what Nate Dawg said. Now, get out of my face before I move you." The blonde remained still, only responding with a daring arch of her brow. Zach chuckled humourless. "Nate, care to tell your bitch to get out of my fucking way before I make her?"

"If my memory serves me correctly, this bitch beat your fucking ass." Victoria stepped towards him, their faces inches apart.

"If she doesn't move feel free to do as you please," Nathan replied casually. His grin comically stretched across his face.

On command, the quarterback snapped his arm forward reaching out to grab the fur lapel of Victoria's jacket. She instantly slapped his hand away and pushed him back. An action that wasn't physically strong, seeing that it only caused him to slightly stumble, but spoke volumes of her character. Max couldn't do anything aside from regulate her own breathing and focus on standing upright. She didn't know how to react at the spiteful blonde, who managed to capture her affections, was once again protecting her against the advances from Zach. Nor could she react in time when Hayden dropped his beers and moved to block the next attack being launched towards Victoria. The crack of Hayden's nose and the throbbing of her head when she was knocked into the ground was the only thing that registered in her mind. Raised voices accompanied by hurried steps crowded the area around them. Max felt herself getting lifted to her feet and pulled away from the cacophonous uproar. She lazily looked up to see the outline of her best friend, Kate Marsh, cradling either side of her face with cupped palms breathing harshly. She couldn't even dichipher what the dirty blonde was saying, the ringing in her head was too loud. Max was able to look over and see both Hayden and Logan Robertson holding back Zach, while Taylor and Chloe physically weighed down Victoria causing her to slump into the sand. Kate tried to quickly move them away from the comotion, but weren't able to get away fast enough considering that the brunette was barely able to stand upright. She felt her feet give out beneath her and fell to the ground, coarse sand peppered her tongue. As Kate moved to help pull her up, Max noticed the red stains in the sand. She reached for her brow to try alleviate the incessant throbbing and felt how wet and tender the are was. Upon retracting her hand to inspect it, she realized the red stains were from her.

 _But, when did I...hit my head?_

Kate was able to pull her upright, and drew her attention by cupping her chin. Her lips moved inaudibly.

"—-can you hear me?!" her voice rang out. Max blinked rapidly. "Max, you can hear me now?" The brunette nodded slowly. "Okay, let's get you out of here. I already called a taxi and they are on their way. I have you now, okay? Don't worry, Max."

The shorter girl steadied her friend and began to slowly walk her back in the direction of the boardwalk, but someone stood before them blocking their path.

"She can't leave, yet," Nathan said aloofly. "Thanks to her my buddy was benched for the rest of the season, and now our evening is completely ruined." He chuckled wryly. "I can't let Max go, until she gives up something to make this night a little more tolerable." Kate's face became ashen, eyes widened with fear. "Oh, yeah," he laughed again. "And she's a bulldyke, too? C'mon. She's already ruined the night by just existing." He shrugged casually, then stepped towards them. "Okay, how's this? Leave Max here, and I'll give you some cash. Sound good?"

"Of-Of course not! Wanna know why? She's my—-my _girlfriend_! Yeah—-and we're leaving now!" Kate yelled. Max could feel how much her body was trembling when she placed her hands on her shoulders to guide her forward. Nathan watched the pair stagger away with a dubious twitch of his mouth.

A sharp jabbing against her thigh caused Max to stir out of her slumber. She dizzily sat up, scanning her surroundings to discover that she was in her dorm room, once again in her bed under unknown circumstances. She tentatively rubbed her brow, flinching at the touch of the laceration above her eye she conveniently forgot about. A soft moan stirred beneath the sheets. Max nervously flipped the cover over to discover her favorite dirty blonde tucked against the wall on the opposite end of the bed.

"Kate, what the hell?" Max croaked. She reached down to nudge her friend awake. "Kate, why aren't you in your room?"

Soft hazel orbs fluttered open and squinted harshly at the brunette. "Max, you're finally awake," she whispered into the back of her hand that was propped against the wall acting as a headrest.

"Yeah, I'm awake," Max said tiredly. She began therapeutically rubbing the side of her head. The throbbing between her ears made it very difficult for her to think properly. "Hey, did I dream about Victoria fighting Zach last night, or did that actually happen." Max slid off the bed and staggered to her desk, carefully eyeing the half empty water bottle sitting at its edge.

"Yeah, that's about what happen," Kate said as she languidly pulled herself up, resting her elbows in her lap. A yawn consuming her face. "I mean it didn't happen exactly like that, but yeah." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Ugh, there was also this horrible boy there who tried offering me money if I—-if I gave him to you."

Max choked on her water so abruptly that she was forced to spit it up on the carpeted floor. "What?!" She exclaimed breathlessly. "He really tried to—-buy me? What the actual fuck?"

"That's what I said!" Kate yelled, finally wide awake. "Why the heck do you think I stayed? There is no way I was going to let you sleep in here alone, after that happened!" Max could tell how upset she was by the rise and fall of her chest. "I didn't want to leave you by yourself, in case that guy showed up."

"Wow, you really looked out for me. Thanks, Kate. I didn't think you had it in you," Max said with a light smile.

"Yeah, well, don't thank me yet," the hazel eyed teen said bashfully. She tentatively covered her mouth.

"Uh, why?"

"I kind of got bold and said that we were dating—-in the heat of the moment," Kate mumbled quietly. The brunette's eyes practically fell from her head at the rate they shot open from the shock alone. "I'm sorry, Max!" Her best friend pleaded. "He was being so awful, and—-and he said these terrible homophobic slurs. A-And you know me, I can't stand that." She awkwardly looked down into her lap. "So, to really grind his gears I...I said that we were dating." Max felt her lips tense into a thin line. She didn't even have the energy to reply. Everything was too much for her at the moment. "It worked though," Kate said hopefully. "I mean, we were able to get away after that, b-because, I guess he wasn't expecting it."

Max moved to say something, but paused mid-thought. "Let me use the bathroom real quick before we even start unpacking this," she sighed, turning to leave the room. After finishing up and consciously enjoying how empty it was, she washed her hands and headed back down the hall. A fleeting thought compelled the brunette to pause and look over at the door belonging to Victoria's room. A faint smile gracing her lips before going inside.

 _Again. Thank you, Victoria._

A/N: Let me just say that this won't turn into a marshfield love affair hahaha. I keep doing this unintentionally, but it makes things more interesting, yeah? ;p To the people who recently started following Sixteen, welcome! Thank you for your support! Again, I'm sorry for the long wait. I'll have Chapter 5 in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I get it out before I move, but if not it might be a month or so. ;D


	5. Chapter 5: Un-Alone

A/N: My readers on A03 are more up to date than on here for some reason, but I'm going to rectify that now. I have a tumblr account that I post updates on: that1-gay-joke. And now I have an instagram account that I post updates on among other gay things: ur_beanscene. Please feel free to follow both and communicate with me there. I really care about what you all have to say about my works. I have a beta reader now (mininsnow) and he will make sure there are no errors or accidental cameos (in CH4 Chloe randomly appeared, when I actually meant Courtney).

Anyway, this chapter will provide some much needed and desired exposition on Victoria. Not too much, but enough to relax some of my readers lol. I keep forgetting that my writing can be very stressful at times, which is also why I added a somewhat fluffy chapter for my Korrasami fic. But, I digress. Please enjoy chapter five of Sixteen.

"Are you sure you don't want stitches? A cut this size will leave a pretty noticeable scar," the school nurse muttered rather frankly as he shift the miniature flashlight in his hand to get a better angle on the thin laceration that split the brunette's eyebrow. "How are you feeling? I'm surprised that you even went to class today with a cut that size." He removed the light and placed it in the pocket of his lab coat. Max blinked rapidly, a bit disoriented as she tried to adjust her eyes to the darker room. The nurse took a step back, furrowing his brows slightly. "You also have a minor concussion, Maxine—- It's Maxine, right?"

"Just 'Max,' please." She ghosted trembling fingers over the wound and pinched her eyes shut. Her head steadily pulsating behind her lids.

"Okay," he said calmly. "Did you hear what I said, Max?"

She slowly nodded her head, this time carefully massaging her temples between the grip of her middle finger and thumb. She released a heavy sigh. Her feet dangled idly above the ground occasionally knocking against the frame of the hospital bed she was "encouraged" to nap in during her lunch hour by none other than her pretend-girlfriend slash best friend, Kate Walsh.

 _God dammit_ , Max hissed inwardly leaning into her hand. _I keep forgetting that's a thing_.

"I know you said that you were only fixing to nap when you got here, but it's clear that you're in a lot of pain," a concerned smile curved onto his lips. "Your pain level has to at least be a solid four at this point, and if you won't let me prescribe you some medication, then at least take a couple days off to get some proper rest."

Max pushed herself from the edge of the bed to the floor and began putting on her faded black denim jacket. "It's only been a couple of days since I got it, and I'm honestly feeling pretty alright," the tired brunette said stiffly. She winced as she reached down to grab her messenger bag and slipped the strap around her shoulder. She turned to face him, worry lining her mouth. "I can seriously do without the medication, though. I don't need it. Believe me." The nurse just stood, quietly listening. "Truth is I prefer to not have my-my—" she gestured at her head with a wry smile "I don't want anything messing with my state-of-mind as it is right now. I'm perfectly fine with the pain, hopefully it'll remind me to stay out of trouble." Her gaze drifted to the recently polished hardwood floor below, before looking back up.

"Okay, I respect that, Max." He nodded methodically, an even polite smile revealing itself. "But, as a medical practitioner and your school nurse I heavily suggest that you take a couple of days of for your health. Fair?"

Max couldn't tell if it was his genuine kindness or southern drawl that made her feel a little more at ease and more cooperative, but she welcomed it all the same. An impatient sigh filled the space between them. "I guess that's fair," Max relented. "I can only afford to do one day, though." She could feel sweat begin to form against the lining of her bra as she spoke. She had already missed an entire day of classes last Friday, the thought of missing another made her stomach twist into itself.

"Alright, sounds like a plan to me," the nurse said casually. He momentarily patted down the pockets on his lab coat and checked inside the pockets of his scrubs. "Wouldn't happen to have a pen on you now, would you?" A lighthearted chuckle filled the room. Max only offered a shy smile and shook her head. He then snapped as if he remembered something important and crossed to his desk and began opening loose drawers. "Ah, there you are," he said inanely. After scribbling into a pad on his desk, the nurse returned to Max and presented her with a small slip of paper. "This is your note excusing you from the rest of today's class as well as tomorrow."

"Thanks," the brunette murmured vaguely, as she inspected the note. _I can barely read what hell this even says._ She turned to leave.

"Ah, before I forget, make sure you come back next week so I can make sure everything is healing alright."

"Sure."

On her way back to her room, Max had stopped by her Calculous and Non-Western Literature class to pick up the day's assignments from her instructors. She had gotten off pretty lucky, the only homework that was assigned was from her literature class. A lot of other students said it was boring, and sure some of their assigned readings weren't all that exciting, but she didn't mind that. The only thing that really mattered to Max was how passionate her instructor was, and Dr. B was that and then some. Just thinking about missing one of her inspiring lectures almost made the brunette want to ditch her note and attend anyway. Almost. She stopped by her locker to grab her reading assignment and made her way towards the main hall. There were a handful of other students at their lockers also grabbing last minute supplies or talking with their friends. A familiar laugh carried through the hall catching the brunette's attention. She scanned the area and spotted Courtney and Taylor leaning against some lockers a little further down. She didn't know whether to greet them or not, she wasn't exactly sure where they stood in light of recent events. But considering all things, the dynamic duo certainly came through whenever the situation called for it. _I'm pretty sure that's what people mean when they say 'ride or die'._ She smiled to herself.

Before Max gave it anymore thought, she found herself awkwardly shuffling towards the pair and giving them what should have been a friendly wave—-that is if bending your arm upwards in a static manner counts as such a thing, then mission accomplished. Courtney absently glanced over, following up with doubletake, before a broad smile curved onto her lips.

"Max Caulfield! Hey!" She beamed nudging the long haired blonde beside her. Taylor mirrored the response and went over to give her a hug.

"Dude," Taylor exclaimed. Max returned the hug and tried to not make the intimate greeting awkward. How was Taylor supposed to know she hadn't been a fan of surprise physical contact recently? "I haven't seen you in like—-a long ass time, man." Taylor finally pulled away with her and playfully punched her arm. Max tried to not wince, as Taylor finally noticed the thick laceration that split her eyebrow. The photographer didn't even want to think about how awful she must have looked at the moment. "Shit," the blonde's smile dropped instantly. "I'm really sorry. I totally forgot about the past week. I'm pretty sure my subconsciousness has just been repressing all of the terrible stuff that has been happening." Taylor began laughing cynically, it was infectious enough that Max felt a faint smile work its way onto her features as well.

"For Christ's sake, Taylor," Courtney chidded. "Do you just not filter what comes out of your mouth anymore? You have no idea how Max is feeling at the moment." She abruptly turned to Max with an apologetic smile, "How _are_ you feeling? When did you get hurt your head?"

Max had to keep her mouth from dropping open at the sudden barrage of warmth and concern radiating from two people who have sworn allegiance to the Vortex Club visa vi the Prescotts. _Christ, the Prescotts. How I became the target of someone so devastatingly powerful is beyond me._ Max was once again careening into her own mind, until she was snapped back into reality by a polished hand being placed on her shoulder. Courtney stood before her, dark mahogany eyes baring into her own with an intensity she didn't even think the other woman possessed. Max felt her mouth draw open, as she tried to form a logical response.

"Oh, um I don't remember everything that happened, but my friend told me I got it when I fell at the bonfire." Her words were choppy upon delivery, almost as if she wasn't sure of them herself. Honestly, whenever she thought back to that night she felt uncertain about everything. If she hadn't allowed herself to get roped into Victoria's life she wouldn't have been in Nathan Prescott's line of fire, and would have dodged a serious metaphorical bullet. _Now, let's pray I don't have to dodge actual bullets._ She felt tears sting the back of her eyes, and quickly composed herself. She can hold in her pain for a few more minutes, then have a proper melt down in the privacy of her room. Like an adult.

Courtney had been watching her carefully during her internal monologue, looking as if she were trying to weigh her next words. Taylor broke up the mental fog. "Max, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but that scar is gonna be badass. Honestly, if I had to choose where I wanted to get wrecked on my face it would be in the exact same spot. You look like you have a score to settle, like in the movies, you know?"

The dark haired girl just stared at her taller friend with a mixture of shock and disdain weighing on her features. "Taylor, what the fuck?" Courtney rarely cursed, if at all, but everytime she did the impact was felt by all parties.

"What? That's a compliment. Max looks badass."

Courtney cut her eyes, before turning to the short brunette, "You actually do look pretty cool," she relented. "I wasn't going to say anything until it would have been more appropriate, but since Taylor insists on being an idiot regardless of the situation," she intentionally trailed off with a dark smile, waiting for her friend to catch on to the implied insult. Taylor simply shrugged.

"No skin off my back, lady."

Before the silence could pick at her flesh, Max spoke up. "You guys really think it looks cool?"

"No question about it," Taylor responded cooly. Courtney nodded with a smile.

"Thanks, guys," Max said coyly. "The last few days—-well, weeks, if I'm being honest with myself—-have really sucked and I've felt really alone throughout the whole thing. But, you guys have made it suck less, if that makes any sense." She chuckled awkwardly, but the women only smiled back warmly. "Anyway, I don't want this to turn into a crying-fest or whatever, so just-thank you."

Courtney shifted the books that were placed against her chest and leaned into the lockers next to them. "Anytime, Max. I mean, the way we got to know each other was under not-so-desirable circumstances, but it happened nonetheless and we're you're friends now. Whether you like it or not." Her words enveloped the brunette in a such a way that it eased the throbbing in her temple. She struggled to keep the tears threatening to come forth at bay.

"And even though you're not a Vortex Club member we'll still look out for you," Taylor added softly. "Oh, and even though she doesn't show it the Royal Pain in the Ass also cares." She hesitated briefly. "Well, she gives a shit in her own way."

With that warm tears made their way down Max's cheeks. She made an attempt to wipe them away with the sleeve of her jacket. Courtney reached out to console her, but she stepped back still wiping at her eyes. "Why are you guys telling me all of this all of a sudden?" Her voice trembled slightly.

The pair exchanged glances before Taylor spoke up. "To put it frankly, we know about what Nathan Prescott did to you at the bonfire last weekend, and from the little bit that Victoria told us and going off of the few encounters I've had with him myself, I can say without a doubt that he's going to try and make your life hell. Yeah, Victoria's been a real Grade A bitch towards you since the school year started, but that angsty shit is nothing compared to Nathan." Taylor paused momentarily, her gaze casting down before flickering back up, her brows slightly pinched. "Victoria has a lot going on right now—-that's a fucking understatement," although a smile curved onto the blonde's lips, it wasn't humorous but deceitful. Max could tell Taylor was trying to keep it together. "Look, she's been dealt a tough hand and I can't go into that right now. The message here is that Nathan Prescott is fucking dangerous, Max. We wanted to let you know that we have your back and that you aren't alone, because when this asshole starts rearing his demonic little head know that you can come to us and we'll do our best to keep you safe."

"It's not just the Vortex Club that the Prescotts run," Courtney chimed in with a solemn tone, "It's all of Arcadia Bay. They own everything and everyone."

Max couldn't decide which matter to address first: Victoria, the Prescott's or the fact that Nathan essentially might murder her—-it all seemed pretty pertinent. She quickly glanced around her and realized that the hallway was thinning, most of the students had made their way to class and it was just them and one or two others. For the first time in years, the brunette didn't want to go back to her room. She had so many questions, but there was no time. Taylor must have picked up on it, too, because she nudged Courtney.

"Dammit. We gotta get to class, Court. If I'm late again Arvin's gonna have my ass—-and not in the fun way."

Courtney seemed annoyed at the comment, but didn't react to it she just looked pissed off, in general, pissed off by the situation. "Shit," she breathed. _Two curse words in less than five minutes?_ "Sorry, Max. We'll have to finish letting you in on everything later. There's so much to discuss. Just text me or Taylor, okay?" She gave a half wave and quickly turned on her heel and began speed walking in the opposite direction, Taylor followed not too far behind.

"What she said, Max! Peace!"

She watched until they disappeared into opposite classrooms at the end of the hall, before making her way back to her room. The phone in her back pocket vibrated softly to indicate that she had a new text message. She skimmed over it briefly before sending out a reply with sigh.

 **Kate:** Hey, Max. Did everything go fine at the nurse's office? What did they say? :/ **(12:40 PM)**

 **Max:** It went I didn't ned stitches lol but the he talked me into taking tmorrow off, so I'm gonna go back to my room. Don't worry, thouhh. Im alright. I promisw **(12:40 PM)**

 **Kate:** ….Are you sure you're alright, Max? You never have this many typos in one text. D: **(12:41 PM)**

Max blinked a few times in disbelief when she realized that she had so many spelling errors that it made her cringe. _Major yikes._ The brunette sent out a finalizing text reassuring her best friend that she just needed to get to her room so she could get some much needed rest. Max crossed the parking lot that lead to the side entrance of the girls' dormitory and ascended the stairs, eyes casted toward the ground in a pensive manner. Once at her door, she absentmindedly swiped her key card and entered only stopping at a black sheet of paper falling from the door to the ground. She slowly reached down to pick it up, mindful of the laggard throbbing sensation that overwhelmed her head when she moved too suddenly. Large orange text consumed the entire page, with the phrase "Ain't No Party Like A Vortex Party Cuz A Vortex Party Don't Stop" and in parenthesis "Everyone Out At 3AM" was placed comically below the phrase in much smaller font.

 _I'm going to go on a limb and say Taylor was behind this design,_ Max thought with the hint of a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. She entered her room and shrugged off her messenger bag and jacket in one motion, letting them pile on top of each other in the middle of the floor. A pair of discarded jeggings and vans was added to the pile, as the tired art student crawled into her bed with the flyer. She stared at the date typed below:

 **Saturday October 31st 7:00 PM At The Old Gymnasium. COSTUMES ONLY...for the costume contest duh ;)**

She vaguely read the words aloud to herself, then paused briefly before discarding the flyer on the floor and rubbing hands through her hair in therapeutic motions. Tension gathered in her shoulders, as she forced out another burdensome sigh. "I'm not going." Her tongue felt heavy as it tripped the words from her mouth. "I'm _not_ going," she stated again, this time clearer. More resolute.

Dry lips pulled themselves into a thin line, as she unintentionally held her breath to gather her thoughts. She glanced over to the small white envelope on her desk containing the silver rings from _that_ night, each one unique in design and appeal.

 _Was it really just a week ago?_

A lump formed at the base of her throat, while sharp jade irises covered by loose strands of blonde hair cut into her memory like chipped blade. Max was able to keep herself from doubling over as her heart leapt forward. Blurred images of full pink lips pulling back to reveal a bright smile—-lips drawing into a small oval to drag from a cigarette—-nose wrinkling slightly when manicured eyebrows are drawn together—-all these unwanted shards of memory flooded the brunette's mind as she silently began to tremble in her bed.

"No, no, no, no, no," she gasped quietly, her hands twisting between the folds of her comforter. She brought her arms up around her torso. "Bring it back, Max. You can do it, bring it back," she chanted the same phrase mindlessly for what felt like minutes, until she was sitting upright in her covers, arms dropped to her sides. She straightened her posture and drew in a steady breath before, before releasing it several moments later. The lump in her throat finally small enough to push back down. Breathing still a bit uneven from the emotional drain.

That Sunday, the day after the bonfire, the day following where she met a person so deceptively evil that she was even convinced on a spiritual level that he was the devil incarnate, Max and her doe eyed best friend had a series of conversations. One of which had a single message that stood out among the others—-the same message that her preppy friends told her earlier that day: keep away from Nathan Prescott, or as she liked to call him Nathan FuckFace (no one said it would be clever, though it did make her feel a little more in control of her pending demise ).

'You have to change your thinking to change your behavior.' Kate had told her, which she believed wholeheartedly. And what time is better than the present when it came to implementing it into her life? Hell, the brunette would even be able to keep herself at a healthy distance from the "all powerful" Queen Bee herself which she desperately needed, regardless of how many times she denied it. But, how did someone like Victoria Chase end up getting involved with a walking cautionary tale like Nathan Prescott? She distinctly remembered how nervous Victoria seemed while they spoke. Sure Victoria was as crass as ever, but when wasn't she? The true oddity of the situation was how the young revered photographer didn't even insult Max during their entire encounter. In fact, she was pretty sure it was the exact opposite. _Though she did call me Queerfield, but it seemed like she was trying to get me to leave…? Maybe?_ Max drew her bottom lip between her teeth. The more she turned it over in her mind, the more uncertain she was of that entire exchange. _Then again I was hammered, but still...everything about that situation was completely off. That guy's smile… Christ, what have I gotten myself into?_ The uneven tremors coming from her nightstand pulled the brunette from her thoughts. She reached over and saw that Warren had just sent her a text.

 **Warren:** Mad Max! I hope you're resting up. Don't hesitate if you need me to bring you anything. Literally anything. At. All. lel **(1:15 PM)**

 **Max:** oh yeh man i hear u **(1:16 PM)**

 **Warren:** :v **(1:16 PM)**

 **Warren:** :V **(1:28 PM)**

 **Max:** Uh aren't you in class lol what do you want? **(1:31 PM)**

 **Warren:** Oof. I wanted to know if you were still down for tomorrow night lol **(1:35 PM)**

 **Max:** hm maybe. I'll let you know **(1:36 PM)**

 **Warren:** It's cool if you aren't just let me know max attack **(1:36 PM)**

 **Max:** yeh yeh **(1:40 PM)**

 **Warren:** ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) **(2:OO PM)**

By the time that the evening had rolled around, Max was able to complete her reading assignments for both today and tomorrow, she even got ahead on some work that she knew would be given for her other classes. She might of been going through one of the worst imaginable situations she could ever picture herself in, but if Max Caulfield prided herself on anything it would definitely be staying ahead of her schoolwork. Today she was able to finally revel in that feeling once again. It had been a few weeks since she took initiative in her classes, so as a reward and reminder to herself to keep it up, she decided to order in, the old packs of ramen and yakisoba gathering dust on her mini refrigerator could hold out a couple more days. She pulled out her phone and opened the ChowNow app.

"Don't mind if do-do," she hummed in an upbeat manner, as she filled her online cart with two family sized orders of pad thai, a seafood sampler appetizer platter, then made her order complete with an order of mangos and sticky rice from her favorite local Korean restaurant. Once her order was placed, Max rolled out of bed and began clearing the discarded clothing and trash that slowly accumulated on her floor. She was finishing up by organizing the shoes in her overwhelmingly small closet when a sharp knocking at her door drew her attention. "Who is it?" She shouted half-heartedly, as busied hands picked up loose trash she spotted at the back of her closet.

"B-Blossom Squirrel requests an audience with the, um, thunder-eagle?" The voice on the other side of the door was unsteady and barely audible. Max rolled her eyes and knuckled her way to the door. She reached up, pulled the door open just enough for her timid friend to push her way inside. "I forgot your code name. Forgive me, Max," Kate whispered, an unsure smile curving her lips.

Max gauffed. "Kate, I was definitely playing with you when I said we should use code names whenever we talk about...Code Name Morbo," she paused, cringing at the title. They could have done better. "But, since we're at this juncture now, my code name was Thunder-Cougar-Falcon-Bird not thunder-eagle." _Am I an idiot?_

"Max, those names don't make any sense—-"

"They're references from a show that doesn't pertain to this situation...whatsoever...in any way possible. Please-ignore-me-im-a-babbling-idiot…"

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just berating myself. The code names don't matter, Kate. What does matter is how we deal with it." Max stopped in the middle of her thought and stared at her friend expectantly. Kate looked around the room, not catching on to whatever the brunette was implying.

"...How we deal with the code names or the situation?"

"The situation, of course," Max snorted. "I honestly thought you would have a plan or something."

"How would I have made a plan so quickly for something so horribly massive, Max?"

The brunette smiled incredulously, "I don't know, Kate, I just assumed you would since you just do things only to tell me about them later. Right?"

Hazel irises narrowed under pinched brows. "I don't like your tone right now, Maxine."

"Well, I don't like having a random girlfriend the day after being attacked by a self-proclaimed homophobic maniac."

"That's low."

Even though her friend's tone was even, Max could tell that she actually went to far with that last comment. She released a sigh and eased back against the edge of her bed. Her body felt like a mass of tight nerves. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she fell back into her comforter and began rubbing her hands across her face. "I'm just tired, Kate, and quite honestly more than a little confused." her arms flopped against her sides as she stared up at the magazine posters of nameless teen idols that occupied the space above her head. _Why the hell did I do this to my ceiling?_ She began to drift into the recesses of her own mind, when she realised she was still very annoyed. Max sat up with a jolt. "What possessed you to tell that murderous-homophobic-psychopath that we're dating? Because, I mulled it over in my mind—-I mean I really tried to unpack this, but I come up with nothing every time."

Kate's response was mute as her mouth fell open. After a few attempts she finally uttered, "I just knew that I had to get you a-away from him, and at the time th-that seemed like the best way." Small hands covered her mouth. Something that the brunette noticed her friend did a lot when she didn't want to speak or didn't like what she was saying.

She pushed the quirk to the back of her mind and leaned forward. "How so, Kate?" It took a lot for her to keep her tone soft and understanding. She wasn't upset with her doe-eyed friend, she was upset with the dangerous situation it got them in. What would happen to them now? _How many people knew?_

The dirty blonde lowered her hands in front of herself and began rolling her thumbs against her palm. "Well, I figured we wouldn't make it if we flat out ran—-you could barely walk and he seemed like the kind of guy that did nothing but workout. I knew I had to throw him off his guard to get away, and I knew he didn't agree with same-sex couples, so-so I lied. Yeah, it makes no sense when I say it out loud, but it seemed like the best solution at the time."

"And that's how they died," Max scoffed.

"Maxine!" The way Kate snapped, Max would have thought she accidentally rolled over her rabbit or something. _Geez, that's dark even for you._

"I'm sorry," her response was immediate. "I've been, uh, using humor to cope with the fact that I'm actually extremely depressed."

"I've realized as much."

"Also, stop calling me Maxine."

"When you stop saying these horrible things to me, I will consider to stop calling you by your full government name."

They stared at each other in dead silence, before breaking out in a fit of laughter. A chime from the brunette's phone drew her attention in between chuckles. "Oh yeah, I ordered some food and it just arrived. Want some?" They made their way down the hallway past the restrooms.

"Maybe some other time, silly girl. But, some of have class tomorrow," the shorter girl smirked with an arched brow.

"That ain't right," Max laughed, trying to feign offense but failing at it. Kate only responded with more laughter before waving one last time and doubling back to her dorm. "This is harassment, you know," she called back jokingly.

As she made her way outside, Max quickly noticed how awful the weather had become. Massive dark storm clouds loomed over Blackwell, ultimately blotting out the sun casting the surrounding area in a dark grey hue. She spotted the driver pulling up as she stepped out into the parking lot. He quickly greeted her with a smile, before jumping out and running over to the passenger seat to grab the order. He turned to face her with the bag in one meaty hand and his phone in the other.

"I take it you're Max?"

"Yup, in the flesh."

He handed over the large bag with an amused grin. "Why do I get the feeling you're going to eat all of this by yourself...tonight?"

"Did the dilated pupils and drippy mouth give it away?" She returned his amused grin with a playful smirk. His smile stood frozen, before his head cocked to the side and he erupted with laughter.

"Actually, yes. Also, your hands are doing the grabby dance at your sides. You only do the grabby hand dance when you're serious."

"I'm very serious."

"I think we've already established that."

The metallic sound of a door opening and closing could be heard behind them over the gathering howl of the wind. Max turned towards the entrance to the dormitories and couldn't contain the look of surprise, terror, and happiness that etched its way across her features. It was none other than Victoria Chase making her way down the concrete steps in an effortless glide. Wearing nothing but fuchsia pumps and a matching jumper she held eye contact with the brunette as she walked passed them, the subtle hint of floral shampoo and lotion mixing between them before being swept away by the wind. Jade stones finally broke their gaze and locked onto the delivery boy.

"You're barking up the wrong tree," her voice was low, her tone crisp.

Max watched as she elegantly lowered herself into the backseat seat of a very expensive looking car with tinted windows that had apparently just been sitting there idle the entire time. The brunette was dumbfounded and producing boob sweat an alarming rate. Just looking at her one wouldn't be able to tell if she had just struck gold and won the lottery or gambled away her entire fortune in a single evening. The only thing that was certain was that she wasn't the witty and collected art student from thirty seconds earlier. The delivery boy's demeanor shifted. He grew pale and noticeably shook himself before offering a nervous smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize what I was doing until it was already happening." _Why does he look so nervous?_ Max was now very confused. " It was very inappropriate and I get that you were just being polite. I didn't realize you were, uh, that you weren't into guys—you look pretty straight. But…"

"Wait, what are talking—I'm not—"

"Hey, I don't need an explanation," he said with a thin smile. "She's lucky to have you. That's all there is to it. Enjoy your meal."

He was backing up towards his car as he spoke and slightly stumbled as he got behind the wheel. After another chaste wave he peeled out of the parking lot leaving the brunette without a second glance. She looked over to the expensive sedan that was still sitting in the parking lot. _I've never seen that car here before._ But, before she could give it more thought thick drops of rain began falling from the sky at such a rapid pace that she had to break out into a run up the steps to get back inside. She was finally back in her room toweling her hair dry, when an awful feeling struck the pit of her stomach in such a way that it took her appetite with it. All she could do was simply put the food away and snack on some of it later if her appetite returned. Max stood over her desk and stared at the calendar she had penned on the wall above it. The Everyday Heroes assignment was due on the upcoming Monday. Only five days away from the Halloween party that she was definitely not going to. _Hell nope. Not going._ For some reason the voice in her head seemed to grow less convencining by the day. _Dammit, Caulfield! Where's your ironclad resolve?_ She sighed aloud and climbed into bed. The digital clock on her nightstand read 9:45 PM, but her body told her that it was closer to 4 AM. She nestled further into her pillows and pulled the comforter up to her nose. As her consciousness faded she began to feel more and more at peace with everything that happened to her over the past couple weeks. Maybe it wasn't as serious as she was making it out to be? No, it was still pretty fucking serious, but she decided she wasn't going to lose sleep over it.

 _Maybe tomorrow._

Max spent the next day completely submerged in her schoolwork. With focus, hard work, and a little pill she got from Taylor to keep her on track, she was able to get ahead on assignments in all of her classes. Especially her photography class. All she had to do now was get something that was substantial enough to submit for the Everyday Heroes contest. Usually the thought of competing for something made Max want to punch herself in the face with a shovel, because the emotional repercussions for doing something so nerve wracking sent her anxiety into tailspin, but the thought of going to California sounded….cool. Deep down, Max had always wanted to visit California not for any specific reason, but it was what most people wanted to do. So, a few years ago she decided that she would go for herself to see what all the hype was about and if she really liked it, then she would stay. Simple as that. Now that she had the opportunity to there for free and possibly get discovered in the process, Max knew that she would be completely mad to pass up on the chance of a lifetime. For once, her crippling social anxiety could take a backseat and possibly even enjoy the ride. Jk, the experience will be debilitating and she knew it. When she finally looked up from her work it was well into the afternoon; 4:30 PM. Blackwell had dismissed its students only an hour prior. She then remembered that she was supposed to meet up with Warren soon to go to the mall together to buy old movies like the hipsters they were. She pinched her nose in frustration. She was exhausted and didn't feel like going, let alone deflect her best friend's emboldened attempts at flirting with her.

Since the night he came and got her, Warren had been different. He was less awkward and more forthright. There was nothing wrong with it at all, in fact, Max thought it was pretty cool—she just wasn't into him like that. Never was. She met Warren back when she and Chloe were still best friends, they only had one class together at the time. But when she moved to Seattle, she soon found out that Warren visited his grandparents in Seattle every summer. He had spotted her at the aquarium one day and they've been connected ever since. As they became closer friends, her own parents had teased her by inquiring if she and Warren were 'secretly dating' or if she had an unrequited crush on her new guy friend. Max hadn't paid it any mind at the time, but did consider it a little down the line as they got older. It wasn't until last year, when Max declared that she had been accepted into the photography program at Blackwell, did Warren start to act differently towards her. Maybe it was the fact that they would now be in constant contact with each other, rather than waiting until the summer to hang out and go on adventures, but Max never gave him the opportunity; he was just so immature. Even though that wasn't the case anymore, she still couldn't see it. _If anything he's more like a brother._ She stared at the unsent text message she had sitting open on her phone. After a few conflicting thoughts, she finally sent it out and held her breath. Lying always made her feel bad.

 **Max** : Sorry Warren, but can I get a rain check for going to the mall? I'm not feeling so hot today. :/ ( **5:35 PM** )

 **Warren** : Sure thing! Do you need me to bring you anything? It doesn't matter how far or what I'm here to help. ;D ( **5:36 PM** )

The brunette forced down the lump forming in her throat.

 **Max** : No, I'm good. Thank you, though. You're a great friend, Warren. :) ( **5:40 PM** )

 **Warren** : :3 ( **5:40 PM** )

That last text wasn't a lie. Warren was a great friend. She also knew that she didn't deserve it. Why did she string him along? She never acknowledged or denied his feelings. What was she to do in such an awkward situation? "Sorry, Warren," she whispered aloud. It was starting to become too much for her—Warren's feelings for her, her feelings for Victoria, Victoria's conflicting behavior towards her, and what of Victoria and Nathan? What was their connection? _What the fuck is his problem with me?_ At that very moment, Max was happy that she was tucked away in the confines of her dorm room, a place she was allotted to express herself freely. She didn't have to worry about how people would react to her collapsing onto the floor and bruising her knees. There was no concern whether or not she looked pretty scrunching up her face as tears blurred her soft blue eyes. The silent screams that were expressed on her pained countenance didn't catch the judgemental gaze of those passing by. Yes, in the solitude of her room, Max Caulfield could have a mental breakdown without worrying what others thought about her. The gripping loneliness that followed this realization was both reassuring and tragic. Though it mattered not, she had already decided the previous night that she wouldn't be getting much sleep.

"I'm sorry could you repeat that for the rest of the class, Victoria?" Mark Jefferson said pointedly, as he gave a challenging glare to a pair of students who were talking amongst themselves. They quickly straightened up with apologetic smiles while softly chuckling. Max had to use reserves of energy she didn't even know she had in order to keep herself from nodding off. She didn't get any rest at all the previous night, and felt like a living corpse. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and propped up her head with a sweaty palm. If it were any other day, she'd be a mess quietly obsessing over how Victoria behaved yesterday evening, and what could possibly occur between them today, but she too exhausted to care; staying conscious took precedence over her budding anxiety. Jefferson gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes, then motioned for the tall blonde to continue.

"Well, for the two ducks in the back, tomorrow the Vortex Club is hosting a 'Seaside Makeover' at the beach tomorrow morning from 10 AM to 2 PM. It involves cleaning up the trash along the shore, as well as giving people that need...I mean want a makeover, or whatever." Her voice was flat, and her expression was just as vapid. She looked over at Jefferson with an impatient widening of her eyes. He sighed, and nodded motioning for her to go sit.

"I can tell by the looks of your sunken lifeless faces that all of you are thrilled at the opportunity to do community service," he fell silent and scanned the room with the outline of a smile. His head dropped, as he cleared his throat. "Maybe I'm wrong for mistaking sarcasm as humor, but that's my problem. Regardless of you laughing at my joke or not, it doesn't change the fact that going to this mandatory." The thunderous sound of collective groans and whines of displeasure literally filled the room in an instant. Jefferson's eyes glimmered mischievously as a wide grin consumed his face. He held up his hand, silencing the protest. "That was another sarcastic joke," he chuckled. "Revenge for not laughing at the first one."

"But, lying isn't sarcasm," a student towards the front of the room interjected with a twinge of irritation.

"Not ostensibly, but I digress. The Seaside Makeover isn't mandatory, but if you do go you will receive extra credit. And who knows? If enough people show up, I might give extra credit for attending one of their infamous parties later on down the line," as he spoke his eyes were contemplative, as if he was speaking aloud to himself rather than an entire class. "We'll see," he said finally, before dismissing everyone. "Oh, yeah! Don't think I forgot about those of you who haven't submitted their pictures to the Everyday Heroes Contest." The brunette lowered her gaze at the slight accusation and quickened her pace, stuffing her messenger bag in a disorganized fashion. "That goes double for you, Max! I see you pretending to not hear me."

"But, I wasn't—" She began to protest, but her words were drowned under the sound of chattering students and moving chairs.

"I actually don't want to hear it," Jefferson briskly, before shaking his head. "Change that, I do want to hear it. See me now, please."

Max stifled the labored groan that was trying to push its way from her throat, and instead made a beeline for Jefferson's desk after she finished consolidating her things. He stood waiting for her with an indiscernible look in his eyes.

"Sorry," she blurted out. "I've just been having a, um, hard couple of weeks."

"No, I get it. Being a young person, especially a teenager is seriously hard. But, I expect better from you, Max. You've been slipping." She pinched her bottom lip between her teeth and began nibbling at the dry skin. A poor habit she picked up when she was younger. After a couple beats of silence, Jefferson drew his thick eyebrows together. "Do you hear what I'm saying, Max?"

"Yeah," she finally said.

"You've got serious talent, and it would be a shame if you squandered all of it on high school nonsense. You need to stay focus," his voice was low, but very assertive. "Victoria's going to blow you out of the water if you keep this up. Do you really want that?"

His words threw her off causing her head to snap up to meet his gaze. She never knew how dark and intense his eyes were, let alone how much he rooted for her success and Victoria's failure. It was weird...right? _Maybe not that weird, but why is he telling me this?_ Max suddenly realized how close he now was in proximity to her and stepped backwards. "I-I'll do better," she breathed out forcefully. Jefferson smiled kindly, before straightening up his posture and placed reassuring hand on her shoulder, but he quickly removed it.

"Oh, my apologies, Max." He lengthened the gap between them and rounded his desk. "I just want someone else to win—to excel for a change, you understand? I don't know if you know this, but the Chase's dominate photography in the art world." He paused for a second, shifting through the photos on his desk before looking over to her. "You and I aren't that different. Just like you, I was the underdog with natural talent that had to essentially crawl through garbage to get to where I am now. Through the process I got to know the Chase's pretty well and….we'll let's just say that I've seen a slug with more charisma."

"Where is this charismatic slug?" A nervous chuckle sounded from her unintentionally. The conversation was making her so uncomfortable, that it caused her notoriously bad humor that she used to escape awkward situations to rear its ugly head. How was she supposed to respond to something like that?

A flash of anger crossed Jefferson's face, before disappearing into the depths of his eyes. "Just stay focused," he snipped. No longer looking at her as he leafed through a file on his desk. "You may leave."

Just as Max was turning to leave, a sensation familiar to that of being repeated pricked with a rusted nail lit her skin on fire as she met the sunken glare of Nathan Prescott, who stood silently in the doorway. _I can't breathe._ Is what the shaken brunette wanted to say, but she was restricted by the bile filling in the back of her throat from the churning in her stomach. Nathan could have been staring at her for what felt like years but what only amounted to a mere second or two.

"Mr. Jefferson," he began in a chipper tone with the same smile that never reached his eyes. "Are you aware that you have a rodent problem?" He began laughing. Black spots began blotting her vision, until she heard a low growl from behind her.

"Not now, Nathan."

Max could barely make out what Jefferson had said, but heard it nonetheless. Nathan's laughter fell silent and his demeanor transitioned into one of subservience. The vile or cruelty that emanated from him was now docile and hollow. _What the fuck is actually going on?_ Max stood absolutely bewildered as the guy who is the son of the family running Arcadia Bay just walked off like he wasn't just verbally bitch slapped by her photography teacher. _Huh? What the fuck—_

"Max, the door," he murmured in the same barely-audible tone. And without another word, she all but ran out of the room making especially sure to go the opposite way she saw Nathan leave.

The beach was a little more chillier than anticipated, and Max was grateful that she wore a hoodie under her jacket. Aside from the dark clouds that have been looming above the city for the past few days, it was a beautiful day at the beach. Everything was going well for the most part; there was a good amount of people, students and adults alike, that were walking up and down the shore with large trash bags. The Vortex Club had two royal purple tents set up on down the beach a little closer to the snack stand, where people could get their makeup done and leave with a compliary bag of makeup and skin care samplers. A few rumors were circulating around campus that the Vortex Club was somehow able to get sponsorship and a donation from popular makeup stores in order to showcase their products and help out the organization. Well, not much of a rumor as it was just the Prescotts pulling more strings to ensure things went their way. Max considered going down to check out the tents...not to look for anyone in particular, but just see what was in those free bags. She honestly felt that she and her pores would appreciate a new skin care routine.

 _I can totAlly use a skin care...routine._

 _Yep._

The brunette shook off the thin layer of sand that covered her shoe. She looked back up at the tents in the distance and began drumming the tips of her fingers against the strap of her messenger bag. A slim white hoodie with gold lettering on the back pushed its way to the front of her mind. Max only saw it for a second, but she was almost certain that it was Victoria who was wearing it.

 _No, no, no. Fuck Victoria, remember? Well, not literally—-God, you idiot, just forget about her, okay? Remember that one asshole? Nathan PresDick? Yeah, he could kill you. Literally._

Max began to pace back and forth, in the futile attempt to decrease the pounding intensity of her heart. With so many things taking priority in her life, one being her actual life, the last thing she needed to think about was sex. Max bit down her lip, her pacing just short of an ungainly sprint.

 _Think of that luscious skin care, though. You can start a new regimen and everything._ She stopped in her tracks. _But, I don't know anything about a skin care regimen. One of my new Vortex friends has to, though, right?_ Her legs guided her towards the tents at an embarrassingly quickened pace. _So, I'm not going to catch a glimpse of Victoria. Nope. Skin care is...where it's at._

"Hey, Max! Are you lost or something?" The brunette looked over a clothed table decorated with makeup to see Courtney smiling at her through a beauty mirror. She returned the smile with a not-so-awkward finger gun. Just kidding. Since when are finger guns not awkward? "You don't seem like the type of girl that willingly goes to get a makeover, let alone let some stranger touch your face." The dark haired teen laughed at her own comment, before return her attention to the mirror as she carefully touched up her lipstick.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't—-" Max caught herself and pinched her brow with a confused smile. "When did you start calling me by my first name?"

Deep mahogany eyes observed puckered sangria lips before turning around. "Oh, girl Taylor and I started calling you Max since we all started drinking together. I mean, after everything we've been through it doesn't make much sense to continue calling you by your last name."

A gentle warmth flushed her cheeks. "I honestly don't mind being called...Caulfield, y'know? So many people have been calling me different variations of my name that I've gotten used to it kinda like a second name—-well, it is a second name—-so to speak," the freckled girl stammered with a soft chuckle.

Courtney eyed her momentarily with a soft curve of her lips before stating, "you're so goofy," with a laugh. Max tried to conceal the smirk that slowly consumed her face, but ultimately failed.

"So, they placed you on makeup detail I'm guessing?"

"Hm? Oh, no. I chose to be over here. I was a total ditz and put on open-toed shoes, and the last thing I want is old garbage and sand getting wedged between my toes." While she laughed, Max did everything in her power to not frown at the mental image that popped into her head. She instead joined in the laughter awkwardly. "Luckily I'm not alone, though. Victoria along with some other members and volunteers going to help out around here. I mean, as you can see there are already a good amount of people here already helping out. I'm just waiting to her and T to get back from the store, now." Courtney paused and noticed the shift in her friend's demeanor; she motioned towards her makeshift beauty station with a kind smile. "Would you like a makeover, dear Max?" The awful british accent that accompanied the gesture made the brunette smile unabashedly, causing genuine laughter to bubble from the surface.

"Yeah, okay. I guess I'll be your canvas." She moved to sit at the swivel chair and placed her messenger bag against the chair. As she sat down she quickly turned around with a finger of warning directed a the preppy dark haired woman. "Do what you gotta do, just don't make me look like some wanna-be poser. Deal?"

Courtney dismissed the comment by strapping a protective beauty sheet around her neck, she couldn't help the tiny bit that edged into her tone as she spoke. "Max, if I know how to do anything in this world—which is a lot—it's definitely makeup and hair. You might as well call me a beauty expert, because it wouldn't be far from the truth."

Max sat silently as her friend got to work on making her "a new woman," as she put it. Now that she took the time to think about it, the pair had never spent time together one-on-one, Taylor was always there to fill out their interactions, which was fine but she didn't realize how much she didn't really know Courtney until right at that very moment. From time to time, Courtney would begin to softly hum a beautiful tune to herself while she worked, and every time it never failed to put Max in such a relaxed state that she almost fell asleep, until being pushed awake by a gentle turning of the chair. She wasn't really sure how much time had passed, but before she knew it she realized they were finished, as Courtney stepped back and observed her work with a satisfied smile; and it wasn't soon after that did a familiar long haired blonde stepped into the tent and practically dropped all of the bags in her hand at the sight of her.

"Shit, is that Max?" She said with an astonished gasp. Courtney gave a satisfied nod, her smile now a prideful smirk. "Dude, you look like a sophisticated college woman. I almost want to hit on you." Courtney agreed with playful nudge at the other's elbow, while Max pushed herself from the chair and observed herself through the beauty mirror that was propped up on a clothed table. She gasped at the person staring back at her. Due to lack of sleep, her complexion had started to grow ashen and her eyes had developed little dark circles. It wasn't anything bad enough to make her look awful, but she had definitely started to notice it herself over the past few days. The person staring back at her now had vibrant healthy skin that even made the brown freckles that peppered her nose and cheeks pop. Hell, her eyes looked bluer than they had in weeks with the dark circles now concealed under a modest layer of foundation. What surprised her most about her "transformation" wasn't even the fact that she had transformed into something better. The youthful woman staring back at her was exactly who she was before stress and fear started making more frequent appearances in her life and giving her anxiety and crippling depression a front row seat to each performance. After watching her lips curve into a smile with little prompting from herself, she knew that she had to get back to this version of herself—not for Victoria, not for her friends, but actually for herself. She had been neglecting her own health for what bullshit teen drama? _Jefferson was right, I need to focus_. She concluded her not being dead yet meant that it probably wasn't as serious as she was making it out to be.

"Taylor, what the hell are you babbling about this time?" It wasn't the words, per say, that quite literally tore the brunette from her thoughts, but rather the voice behind them. She remained motionless, as Taylor overhyped her makeover to Victoria, whose prodding emeralds warmed her flesh to the point of combustion.

 _Down, girl._ She reminded herself. Her face remained collected on the surface, while her insides were in a frantic tailspin of chaotic teenage hormones.

"Don't you look well rested," the reigning Queen of Blackwell said with a courteous nod. "Good job, Court."

Everyone looked as shocked as Max felt, as Courtney quickly cleared her throat and offered a forced smirk that did a poor job in mimicking the one from earlier. "All in a day's work."

Max gathered her things, before bidding a stiff farewell and mumbling something about needing to go outside and help with cleanup. Taylor quickly followed up with a similar excuse and walked out with the shorter girl. They walked silently with oversized clear garbage bags in their hands blowing mindlessly in the building gusts of wind that encompassed them. Max almost pounced on a discarded beer can she saw roll into her path; anything that could busy her mind and distract her from her blue eyed companion. She shoved the obtrusive object in the bag and began to scan the ground more fervently. There wasn't much left for her to scavenge, a thought which should have made her feel better, but ultimately didn't.

"Can we talk?" Taylor finally said, after Max tossed a dried piece of seaweed to the side after mistaking it for a piece of trash.

"Sure."

"...Can we talk about Victoria?"

This time Max stopped in her tracks, and just stared back at her friend. "To be honest, I'd rather not." Taylor had also stopped, and was now looking at her with concern and sadness building just beneath the surface. She rarely saw this side of the her and folded despite herself. "I mean, of course we can."

"Remember a couple of days ago when I told you that Victoria had a very trying life and to not be so quick to judge her?"

Max thought on all of the times when the silver-tongued blonde either verbally berated her or physically cornered her—she made extra strides to leave out their intense sexual encounter, but failed resulting in another stake plunging into her heart. A pained smile accompanied her. "I sure do," she scoffed harshly. _No one is like that unless they're just cruel deep down,_ she thought with another cynical huff. _Seriously, who just takes someone's virginity and threatens to kill them afterwards?_ To draw attention from the tear that slipped out, she pretended to be rubbing something from her eye.

"Well, I wanted to tell you about that." She stopped and pushed some old cans and old wrappings into the bag. She stopped, making bold direct eye contact with the brunette. "Victoria can never know I told you this or...or it might actually kill her—right after she kills me, of course." Taylor tried to keep her tone light, but it didn't work.

"Then, why tell me any of this? Seriously, what's it to you how I perceive Victoria?" Max heard her voice getting louder, as she clenched her fists. "I'm friends with you and Courtney, not her. She made it very clear that she doesn't want anything to do with me. So, why...Taylor? Why tell me this?" By the time she finished speaking, Max's entire body was trembling. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, as she tried to regain her composure. Saying the harsh reality of her relationship with the lithe woman left her feeling spiritually drained and irritable. She didn't even want to hear Taylor out anymore, but kept herself from speaking out.

A tiny smile revealed itself. "V thinks I'm blind. That I'm just her wild ditzy friend who doesn't pick up on anything and only cares about partying, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I know my friends _well_. That includes Victoria and _you_." Max's eyes widened at the bold statement. "I see how you guys look at each other, how don't look at each other, how you avoid each other—at first I didn't really think much of it, yeah? Like, Victoria was a total shit towards you all of the time, so naturally you'd want to avoid her, right? But, then I quickly realized it was so much more than that."

Sweat covered the full circumference of the brunette's palms in a matter of seconds. She walked in step with Taylor, her mouth practically hanging open the entire time. "Wh-Wh—are you? There's not—" she wasn't sure if Taylor could hear her fumbled attempts at speech or simply ignored her, but she continued nonetheless.

"I'll be honest with you, I don't know what's going on between y'all, and I don't care what it is. I do care about the effect it has on Victoria. No one has been able to have such an impact on her in all the time I've known her. I mean, she kind of opened up to me over the summer, but that was—" She trailed off. Seemingly trapped in her own thoughts.

Max was instantly brought to the conversation she had with Dana last week, about how Taylor and Victoria spent a seemingly endless amount of time together the previous summer. It had sat in the far reaches of her mind as to whether she and Victoria had been an item at one point, and now she could confirm the rumors, even if for her own piece of mind. "What happened over the summer?"

"Victoria told me something that changed our friendship forever and now I'm going to tell you," she paused, her blonde bangs folding into the wind with the length of her hair. Up to this point in their conversation, they had basically stopped collecting trash, but it was pretty much complete as it stood so it didn't matter as much. Taylor broke their contact and pensively looked down, the pace at which they walked slowing down in tandem. "I don't know if you've heard about Victoria's parents—the Chase's, but they're basically a historical milestone in the world of photography and art. They have studios in major cities all over the world, and even more power and influence to support them. And you know, being raised in a household like that meant that by the time you were able to talk, you were held to meet certain expectations. Which, in Victoria's case, meant that honoring her family always took precedence. She had to be the best in any and everything and could not tarnish the Chase name with poor behaviour or judgement. But, when Victoria was only twelve years old she did just that. She became best friends with some girl in her class—I can't remember her name was for the life of me—but they grew really close, and before she knew what was happening she had developed feeling for this girl and soon after that, V's parents caught her and the girl kissing by the pool." Max's stomach locked into itself as she winced in anticipation of foreboding news.

"I won't get into detail—it makes me sick to my stomach. But, after banishing the girl from their home, her parents starved her out for days before finally deciding to send her to a conversion camp just up state." Tears were already streaming down her down her face at this point, but she remained quiet. "That's where she met and became close friends with Nathan."

"What?!" Max choked on her own words and began coughing into her hand.

"Yeah, he was sent there by his parents, too. 'He likes boys and girls and everything in between,' is how Victoria put it exactly. And even though Prescott's father was pissed, he had been specifically grooming his kid to take over the family company, so rather than disowning him he placed him in that shithole. They were only there for a few weeks, but it wasn't legal what they put those kids through—I'm talking child endangerment, molestation, abuse, rape—it was fucking awful. All in the name of putting those defenseless kids, who did absolutely nothing wrong, on the 'right' path. Victoria didn't even tell me what they did to her while she was there, but she didn't fucking have to. I knew just by looking at her." Anger, frustration, sadness, and all out hate rooted itself deep in Max as she listened. "When they were finally released, rather than letting her return home, V's parents had already made a contract with the Prescotts. Victoria was to stay and be raised with them...not as their child, but as Nathan's betrothed. Those cowardly-twisted fucks arranged for her to be groomed and married into that nightmarish family." Taylor was crying at this point. Her voice kept catching in her throat as she spoke. Max tenderly began rubbing her back. "It's un-fucking-fair, Max. Just total bullshit. They've been filling her mind with poison all of these years, and Nathan? Nathan is like her goddamn handler or some sick shit. He hates himself, he turns that hate against her. She hates herself, too. I mean—God, the only reason she told me all of this is because she accidentally called me and I found her so drunk and high that I had to take her to the hospital to get her stomach pumped."

"Oh my god," was the only thing that fell from the brunette's mouth.

She honestly didn't even know what to say to that. It was all so painful and for it all to happen to Victoria made her heart fill with so much anguish that she felt nauseous from the pain. She was going to opt that they just return to the tents, when a large gust of wind pushed into her side knocking her backwards into the moist sand. Taylor went to pull her up and that was when the pair noticed people shouting as they run further down the beach away from the designated cleaning points. Taylor pulled her along as they rushed towards the commotion. She noticed that the large purple tents that she was pretty sure were nailed and anchored into the ground were now being pushed across the beach effortlessly. The horrific mental image of Courtney and Victoria being tossed around inside the tent like rag dolls sent her mind into a spiral as she broke out into a slanted sprint across the drifting sand with Taylor on her heels in pursuit. As they got closer, sheets of rain began pouring from the sky, which caused her companion lose her footing and slam into the ground.

"Let's go!" Max shouted as she pulled her friend along the soggy sand.

The tiny fragments of ice began to drop from the sky and pinched and scrapped against her skin as they ran as fast as they could with weighted legs. Since the tents were nowhere in sight, they sprinted past the original checkpoint and broke for the recreational center a quarter of a mile down the shore. Sprinting for a quarter of a mile on a clear day would leave the brunette breathless, so the fact that she was tasked to so in the middle of a storm just made her feel as if her lungs bursting in her chest with each step. She and Taylor finally heaved themselves up the steps and collapsed their weight into the door forcing it open. As soon as the doors slammed behind them, Max keeled over and dry heaved into a nearby garbage bin. That was the hardest she had to run in her entire life, sprinting against winds going over forty miles per hour for what amounted to be a little over a mile really chipped away at what little energy she had left.

"Fuck, are you okay Max?!" Taylor was at her side rubbing her back in a heartbeat.

"I'm only dying," Max replied between weighted breaths. She would have been proud of her snarky retort if it didn't carry so much truth. Taylor's mouth only creased into a frown in response.

The recreation building was filled with a mix of people, a lot of whom the brunette had no affiliation with. A good amount of them were from the Seaside Makeover event, but no one that she really knew. Soft blue irises scanned the crowd before landing on Victoria who was leaning against the metal guarding of the second story overlook. Max instantly recognized the guy that stood with her engaged in conversation. Nathan Prescott. After hearing everything from Taylor, seeing them together only made sinkhole in the her gut double in size. She didn't want any of it to be true, but it undoubtedly was. What would Taylor gain by lying to her? It was just not in her character to do such a thing. Max didn't realize she was staring at Victoria, until their eyes locked. The complimentary reunion of cool sapphire and burning emerald. They didn't stay on each other for long, but the exchange carried a different weight than any before. Victoria's eyes widened with surprise upon seeing those large blue gems. A genuine heartfelt smile curved onto Max's lips as she stared at the blonde goddess above. Relief washed over her in warm streams once she realized that Victoria was safe.

 _She's safe._

Max quickly averted her eyes, before her courage started to wane and instead walked over to meet with Taylor who was already in the trenches of a discussion with complete strangers. The weather taking such a nosedive didn't come as much of a surprise to everyone like Max thought it would, unlike her—and let's be honest—most students, she never really put much stock in regularly checking weather conditions. _I should probably start doing that more._ She couldn't help but notice, yet again, that most of the people wedged into the rec center were from her own school. Maybe they could have done a better job planning ahead. Max wasn't aware of how long she stood in Taylor's shadow as she effortlessly mingled her way through the room, but by the time they had reached the stairs she had better eyes on Nathan and wanted nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible. She leaned into the blonde and whispered an excuse about needing to use the restroom, before turning to leave. Cold hands caught her wrist in a firm, but gentle action.

"Is this about, y'know?" Taylor motioned her head behind them in the direction of Nathan and Victoria. Max almost shook her head in decit, but drew in her bottom lip and nodded instead. Taylor's eyes softened, a pained smile pulled at her lips. "I shouldn't have told you all of that. I'm so sorry. I really shouldn't have—."

"It's not that, Taylor. I'm...I'm just tired—and sad, and hungry," she chuckled harshly. "I'm very hungry, actually." The chuckle was now incessant, as the taller girl pulled her into a heartfelt embrace. Max returned the hug where they both remained for a few moments, before Taylor finally pulled away. Max noticed how her foggy blue eyes glinted with emotion.

"Then you should get something to eat immediately." She smiled at her warmly. "It's an emergency, after all." Max mouthed her gratitude and made her way back down the stairs, but first stopping by the restroom before calling a Lyft to take her home.

By the time she had made it back to her room it was well into the afternoon, but by the way her body dragged itself out her clothes it felt closer to midnight. A hot shower and three day old takeout was the only thing the art student had her sights on, as she double checked her shower caddy to make sure she remembered to bring her razor blade this time. After spending a sinful amount of time in the shower, Max was back in her room enjoying the sensation of dry clothes and a warm bed. Her food tasted even better than it had before, and the show she was streaming on her phone seemed even funnier than the first four times she had watched it. She almost thought that something was wrong with her until it struck her—she hadn't had a good day in long time. A very long time. Having good days felt….damn good.A satisfied grin revealed itself as she shoveled more food into her mouth and washed it down with tap water. She got up to grab the stack of napkins she left on her desk, when an envelope was accidentally knocked onto the floor landing with a metallic clank. Victoria's rings.

 _I forgot. I never gave them back to her…_

 _Should I?_

Max picked up the envelope and brought it to her desk, after writing a small message along the bottom she went out to the hallway and paused at Victoria's door. She didn't hear her return since the time she's been back, so just assumed that the blonde just hadn't returned yet. Max nervously shifted the weight between her feet. The act of releasing something associated with such heartache should be one of relief, so why didn't she feel that way?

"Just put it down and walk away. Don't linger," the brunette said with shallow breath. Without giving it another thought, she slid the envelope beneath the door and quickly turned to leave. But, the unwelcomed sound of the door clicking open paralyzed her with dread.

"Who just slid this under my—-Max…Caulfield?"

Her knees almost buckled at the sound of her own name rolling off that notoriously sharp tongue. Even if Max wanted to respond, she couldn't move. Couldn't speak. She couldn't do anything but stand there. Terrified out of her mind. Forget having a panic induced heart attack, in that moment she was a heart attack. Her skin felt like it was vibrating.

"'Victoria—I'll never bother you again,'" the lithe blonde said softly as she read what was written on the envelope. The sound of it being opened gave the brunette the energy to turn around. She still had on her same clothes from earlier; a white zip-up hoodie and black leggings. Her hair was still a bit damp from the rain and she looked different than usual...more vulnerable. Max glanced at the chain that dipped into her cleavage and it followed it against the length of her neck, but that was when she saw it—a soft bruise—it was the impression of a hand. _How long ago did that happen? Is that why she's wearing a hoodie?_ Max couldn't will herself to think about it. Everything hurt entirely too much. It ached right along with her heart. She watched as the rings collected in Victoria's hand. "My rings," her voice was barely audible. The jade eyes that once cut into her like a shard of glass were now soft stones.

The air in Max's throat hitched. This was usually the part where she was shut out or threatened, but rather than waiting to see which scenario played out she turned away. Her hands were balled into tight fists as she stared at the ground. "You won't have to worry about me anymore, Victoria." She began walking towards her room. Her tears finally given the agency to fall on their own.

"Wait." Max stopped in her tracks, her trembling hand already on the doorknob. She couldn't turn around, her face was a mess. So she just stood in place. "I was in the middle of making myself a drink. I know you could use one, too." Rather than respond, she dried her face with her sleeve before turning around and offering a weak nod. "C'mon." Victoria beckoned her with a slight tilt of her head.

Victoria's room smelled exactly like her. It consisted of bold earth tones: shades of brown and vibrant reds. A tall bookshelf stood in the corner adjacent to the window that carried nothing but manga, scholarly texts on photography, and a variety of horror books by different authors. They had so much in common it would have almost been shocking, if the brunette wasn't focused on sating the spike in her blood pressure. Alternative rock was quietly playing in the background, as Victoria quietly shut the door and went to her kitchenette to pull out another glass. Max stood quietly near the bed with her arms threaded together through the sleeves of her sweater.

"You can sit on the loveseat," the blonde called over her shoulder while busied hands poured passion juice into their glasses. Max nodded and moved to go sit down. Her entire body was a gangle-fuck of throbbing nerves. How she was able to walk bipedally was beyond her.

 _Why the fuck am I here? Am I going to die?_ Both very important questions that she wanted to ask, but was too damn fidgety and lacked the emotional wherewithal to do so. So, she sat and waited. Moments later Victoria arrived with a glass in each hand. She looked exhausted, but still gorgeous. Max graciously accepted her drink with a mangled 'thanks' and both women sat in silence sipping their drinks. Well, Max sipped hers anyway, Victoria launched her neck back and downed it in a matter of seconds. She then turned towards her.

"I owe you an apology," she finally said, after what felt like an eon of silence. "I owe you multiple apologies. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you, but I'm especially sorry for what I did to you last week," she paused briefly. Looking down at her hands. Her eyes were now lidded. "I wasn't myself. I-I was drunk and let things get out of hand, but that's no excuse for what i did," her voice was stunted, worry lined the corners of her mouth.

"Did he make you say that?" The brunette blurted out without even thinking of the repercussions. The alcoholic beverage already taking effect, dragging her anxiety and fear out along with it. The pain, however, remained. It was evident in the way she unabashedly eyed the bruise on her neck. It hurt her so much that she didn't even notice the tears rolling down her cheeks, until the emerald jewel reached out to wipe them away. Those same fingers began to trace around the scar splitting her eyebrow.

Their eyes caught and that was when she realized that those were the same eyes from that night. Eyes that were so vulnerable. Eyes that wanted her. But, they were quickly torn away when she pulled from her. "This has nothing to do with that," she said abruptly. "This is from something I did...by my own hand." Victoria promptly pulled her hood over her head and then got up and began to aggressively pour herself another drink. "Do you want one?" She snapped. Her voice sounded uneven.

"Yes, please," Max replied softly. She stared at her hands, trying to make them stay in focus. She was definitely buzzed by this point. "Though, I probably shouldn't be drinking after I hit my head. I get lightheaded so easily now." The sound of the bottle slamming against the desk refocused her attention. "Do you need some help?" She began steadying herself in preparation to stand up, but was simultaneously rebuffed by Victoria who spun around and firmly suggested she stayed seated with a subtle flick of her wrist.

"Fuck," she spat, after downing another shot of vodka. She whipped around and began pacing hotly. "This shit wasn't supposed to happen. I was trying to keep you out of this. Fuck!"

Panic gained lease of her temporary buzz, as she watched the poised blonde unravel with each passing second. "Wh-What are you talking about? Keep me out of what?" Her imagination jumped the bullet with all routes leading to her untimely death and her heartbeat following not too far behind. Then, it all clicked. "Does this have to do with you and Nathan—and his family?" Now she was up on her feet.

Victoria stopped and eyed her suspiciously. "Who the fuck have you been talking to?"

"No one, Victoria. I have eyes, and ears, and the fact that Nathan has threatened me multiple times within a few minutes of meeting me."

Victoria officially looked out of her depth. Her eyes wide and paranoid. She then began muttering something to herself. Max physically grabbed her by the wrists and forced them to make eye contact.

"Victoria, talk to me. What the hell is going on? What did he tell you?" The fear she saw in those eyes shook her to the depths of her soul. She never expected to see anyone, especially Victoria, with eyes like that. At that moment, she felt her back pocket vibrate rhythmically. "Who the fuck is calling me now, at all times?" Max yanked it from her pocket and saw that it was Kate, but decidedly ignored the call. She couldn't be bother with anything else at the moment.

"Who was that?" She whispered. This whole situation was causing the brunette's anxiety to peak at uncharted levels. Her mouth twisted derisively at the inquiry.

"What?"

"Who the fuck was that just now? Have they been calling you this whole time?" Victoria's voice rose with each inclination.

"It was just Kate. What the hell is your—" her eyes grew wide with horror. "He's going after Kate?"

"Call her back, now!"

Sweaty fingers fumbled the phone ultimately causing it to crash into the floor, Max scrambled to grab it, but Victoria intercepted it with a curse between her lips. She re-dailed and handed the phone back Max who gently placed it to her ear. The line picked up. "Kate! I'm so sorry I missed your calls are you alright? I've been—" A heavy sigh of relief was released upon hearing her friend's soothing voice. Max felt tears sting the backs of her eyes, but promptly blinked them away. Victoria stared at her expantantly, but soon gave a sigh of relief herself when Max gave her a reassuring smile. "Okay, okay. I was just making sure you were fine, that's all. Be safe, and don't spend too much time out. Go-Go with something and be sure to send me periodic updates on your location—-where am I? I'm—uhm." She shot a dumbfounded look at Victoria who aggressively gestured to keep her out of it. "I'm just—you know? Out on the town...mixing it up." Max winced at her lackluster response, while the lithe blonde grimaced at the failed display. After swiftly hanging up, Max challenged the accusation. "What? She's safe, right? Isn't that all that matters? Not everyone can lie as good as you." She instantly wished she could've taken that last phrase back. "Victoria, I didn't mean—"

The blonde put her hands up carelessly. "Whatever. I don't even have the energy to go there with you. All that matters is that you and your little girlfriend stay away from all of this shit." Victoria crossed over to her desk and started to refill her glass and rose the drink in the air towards the other woman with an inquisitive brow who shrugged with a nod. "If you keep your distance from the Vortex Club, you just might be safe from the Prescotts." She returned with a glass in either hand, giving one to the brunette who frowned at the statement.

"Wait, Kate isn't my girlfriend. She's my _best friend_."

Victoria pinched her brows tougher. "Then, why would she tell Nathan that you guys were in a relationship—dating? That's the only reason he has it out for her."

"She told me that the only reason she did it was to somehow throw him off, so that we could make our escape."

"That doesn't make any sense at all." Victoria stared into her glass, before downing it in a single take.

"Yeah, well it did get us out of there safely. I can give her that."

The blonde leaned against her bed with a sigh, placing the empty glass next to her and shook her head. "You guys wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't me going ape-shit on Zach at that party. I genuinely fucked up. I should've just got the security guard or something—fuck." She leaned into her palms, sinking further into the large comforter.

Max cautiously approached her, sitting at her side. "Why did you save me that night?" Her voice was low and soothing.

"I can't stand people like that. When someone takes something so precious from someone else, it can't be made right. It never will be. They will always be a missing piece." She paused to take a steady breath, even though her body was already trembly, voice thick with emotion. She rolled the sleeves up on her hoodie and pulled off the hood and looked up at Max with chipped jade stones. "I couldn't let that happen to anyone one else. Especially not you—" she recoiled mid-sentence, her jaw clenched.

The brunette watched her carefully, making sure to not release the onset of tears she sees building in her blonde counterpart. As emotionally unhinged as she as at that moment, she had also never been so clear-minded. She noticed as Victoria shifted under her gaze. "Why me?" She asked softly.

Victoria straightened and their eyes met. Those resilient earthy gems had finally gave way to the cracked and vulnerable truth of what was Victoria Chase. The silence that surrounded was punctured by one response: "Because it's you," she said simply. Her words were barely audible, but Max heard them clear as day.

Despite herself, tears flowed freely down freckled cheeks and curved into the heavy fabric of her sweater. It all seemed so surreal, but Max lunged forward and wrapped the elegant woman before her into a longing embrace. She was met with gently strokes along the length of her back as she whimpered silently.

By the time Max woke up, her head felt as if it was on the verge of imploding at any moment. It caused her so much visceral pain that she had to physically hold her head just to feel grounded. She rolled to her back and squinted at the ceiling, only to tear them open in unfounded shock. _Where are my posters?_ When she dragged herself up and did a once over on the room, that was when it dawned on her that it was actually Victoria's room. She must have fallen asleep, but where did Victoria go? She quickly peeled off the sheets and flipped over to see a note taped to the bedside lampshade.

 _Max,_

 _I left soon after you feel asleep. I can't return for the next few days, but feel free to the food and drinks in the fridge. After you leave, just make sure the door is completely closed._

 _P.S. The hoodie you left at the cafe is hanging up in the closet in a dry cleaner bag. Don't forget to take it with you._

 _Victoria._

A/N: Sorry again for the long wait! I'm going to fall right into the next chapter, so an update is coming soon. Let me know what you all think. I am so happy that everyone is enjoying this angsty shit lol. Truly. After each chapter I put off updating it, because I fall into this negative mindset of thinking I'll ruin it so I decide to just wait and...it's just a lot. So, please don't feel bad about asking me where the hell the update is because it helps me keep writing.

P.S. I'm in the middle of writing my own book, so I'll be updating between that. Okay, byeee I love you all.


	6. Chapter 6: Enlighten Me

A/N: Heavy shoutout to Recourse over on a03 who inspired this silly fic to begin with.

"You were where?!"

"Well, I'm actually _right here_ , so there's no need to—"

"What in the world were you thinking? Do you not remember everything she has done to you?!" Kate Marsh frantically paced the length of the room, her arms wrapped tightly around her middle in some small attempt to pacify herself. "What would possess you to be in the company of such a—monstrous woman?" Kate was now yelling.

This was a day of many firsts. Max physically leaned back in response to the sudden uproar of her friend's response. She couldn't exactly tell her that she and Victoria had sex, and the aftermath of which resulted in her being in the crosshairs of Nathan's sociopathic fury. That wouldn't make much sense, but regardless of that the lengthy explanation alone would be the death of her. So much had happened in such a short period of time, that it was a godsend that her body didn't react as drastically as her anxiety did.

"Max, are you even listening to me?" Kate now stood before, small hands clenched tightly. She looked like an angry rabbit trying to defend a small village of sentient mice that she had recently discovered. A smile forced its way against the brunette's lips. Her friend definitely didn't like that response one bit. She threw her hands up in an exasperated manner. "I'm so glad that this is all just one big cheese-fest to you, Maxine, but some of us actually care about what happens to the people they—care about."

Max lost it at "cheese-fest." These mouse jokes were writing themselves. A muffled chuckle erupted into obnoxiouslaughter. At that, Kate made for the door, pulled it open, and jabbed a finger out into the hallway. She had her nose turned up as a deep frown consumed her soft features. Max quickly suppressed her smile and leaned forward reassuringly.

"Kate, I swear I'm listening to you. It's just…" another smile fought its way out. She punched it down with a show of wiping at her mouth. "You look like a cute rabbit that defends tiny mouse-people?"

She just sighed. Max always thought disappointment never flattered her friend; the look always seemed to contradict her gentle features, and now as she stood pointing Max out of her room it looked even more unpleasant. She took a cautious sip from the tepid cup of tea she had locked in her hand. They had been sitting in her room for a little over an hour now, and all the brunette did was deflect with sardonic humor. Everything that seemed to keep itself together was now falling apart. She was only beginning to collect the broken glass of her relationship with Victoria—if there was even one there to begin with. It had only started to weigh on her now that it has been a full twenty-four hours since the blonde left her that night, but Max wasn't looking forward to being alone with her again. Victoria had caused her so much pain, and sure she apologized, but apologies can only go so far. Eating the last bit of someone's leftovers merits an apology; while everything that Victoria had done to her requires ...well, something more than that. Anything with more force than _that_. Max knew that she would be insulting herself directly if she simply accepted the other woman's apology ; regardless of how the ivory pools of her eyes were bloodshot with emotion, or how her lips were swollen from biting down or sucking on them in clear fit of pain. It was apparent that Victoria Chase was destroying herself with guilt over what she did to Max, but an apology will never be enough particularly because she believed that Victoria didn't understand why she was apologizing herself. Perhaps if that happened, then maybe…?

 _I don't know. I just know I deserve it._

The light touch of Kate's hand over her own drew the brunette from her thoughts. Her eyes followed as Kate gently pried her hand free of bloodstained shards of glass. The realization of what happened cut through her mind—Max stared at her doe eyed friend through a mental fog. Her heart felt so congested. Kate kneeled down and began cleaning the cuts with a warm rag. Even though her head was down she saw it—Kate was crying. She wanted to speak up to console her friend, but her mouth might as well have been wired shut. But, before she could force out a single syllable Kate spoke up in a voice so soft that it could get swept away by the slightest breeze.

"I love you," she breathed. Her eyes were fixed upon the fresh dressings she had just finished tying off on the brunette's hand. "I care for you so much, despite you being more stubborn than the Devil himself." Burnt hazel eyes accented by the glow of a setting sun flickered up to meet her own. Max never noticed it before, but Kate's eyes held notes of orange and cedar. So different from Victoria's, but not by much. "You are my best friend. I know you. I know when you're in pain. I know when you are keeping secrets that fuel that pain." Kate glanced up woefully, as a tear escaped, slipping down her cheek. Max opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced with a unemphatic shake of the head. "You can't keep me in the dark about this, Max. I'm serious. Seeing you riddled with so much hurt—hurts me. Don't you understand?" A wounded smile teased her lips.

Max wetted her lips and tasted salt. She had been crying without even realizing it. _This isn't the way I wanted this day to go,_ she thought as she drew her lip between her teeth. Her plan for the day was to perhaps wander around campus and praying to catch something—anything—that could be considered "heroic enough" for the Everyday Heroes Contest. She didn't want to think today. Everything felt so heavy, and with the situation she got herself into, no action went without severe consequences. What if she told Kate everything, and she somehow ended up getting hurt as a result? Max wouldn't be able to live with herself if she allowed that to happen. The thought alone made her heart seize itself into a frenzy. It was too risky getting Kate even more involved than she already was, but what if she still insists?

"I can't," her voice cracked into a whisper. _It's what's best_ is what she wanted to say, but was forced to stand witness as her friend's head dropped in defeat. Her shoulders trembled heavily and Max did everything in her power to not launch herself forward and force the tears away under the sheer weight of her own body. She opted instead to provide a gentle touch to her shoulder, but was immediately dismissed with a cold gesture. The action caused Kate to rock back from her knees to the floor, her back against the wall. She held her head with the hand propped against her leg, while the other lay limp at her side. "I'm sorry!" Max pleaded, she fell to her knees before the other woman. "I don't want you to get hurt because you've been caught up in all of my shit." Words tumbled forth at an incoherent rate.

Kate slapped away her second attempt at condolence. "None of that matters, since you are the one hurting me right now."

The brunette went slack-jawed. Maybe it would be better if Kate knew, whatever happened as a result they could handle it, right? "Okay, you win." The cadence of her voice was irregular. "I'll tell you," she sat up, slowly pulling her legs together, crossing them. "I can't tell you everything all at once, though," she drifted. "I'm still processing a good amount of it, but I will tell you the parts I've made sense of. Is that okay?"

Kate had pulled her knees to her chest with her arms locked safely around them. "That's fair," she whispered. After a few moments of silence, Max fell into the situation thus far, leaving out key facts that mainly included Victoria, but giving just enough information as to not have her small companion entirely in the dark. Kate stared at her from across the room, the sun had already made its journey west, and was replaced by the stale ambiance provided by the light posts located around campus. Kate was irritating her thumb between her teeth. "None of this really explains why Victoria behaved in such a horrid manner, especially on that night when Warren walked you to your room."

Max anxiously ran her tongue along the recent scar tissue inside of her cheek. If her mother hadn't tried so prudently to break her from the habit, she was almost certain that nothing would've been left. _God, that's gross. You need to focus._ A poorly formed "I'm still trying to figure that out myself" fell from her mouth, and she instantly regretted it. _That was a lie._ Of course, she had lied to Warren a few times..or several, but that was different and a habit that she's definitely kicking. But, she was never supposed to lie to Kate. _Well, maybe it's okay this time,_ a small voice in the back of her head chimed. _Okay. It's not "okay," but it will be okay. That's all that matters._

"Maxine." The brunette's head snapped up. "Please stop with these drawn out pauses, the suspense is actually killing me."

"Sor-Sorry." She dragged her hand languidly through thick locks...and perhaps a little oily, as well? The shower was going to be her next destination if it was the end of her. The smell of fresh linen and gardenias filled her nose as she pushed her hood over head. It was beyond her how the Queen of Blackwell herself wound up in possession of her once lost favorite hoodie, but there she was wrapped up in its mediocre glory; the familiar scent of Victoria accosting her senses making her dizzy—she snapped the hood off, along with the entire garment with one swift motion over her head. Too much. "It's hot," she offered sheeply at Kate's growing impatience. "Um, before we begin...perhaps some more tea?"

The dirty blonde dragged herself to her feet and made for the kitchenette and only breaking her glacial stare when she had to edge herself on toes in order to reach the "good tea" located in the back of the cabinet. At this point Max was willing to drink poison if it meant pushing the evening along in a more expedient manner.

"Walk with you to class?"

Max snapped her locker shut in time to see Warren leaning on the opposite side of her with a smile and making his debut in what appeared to be a new leather jacket with more zippers than the last one he owned. Irritation clawed its way up her throat, itching to railroad the conversation of any potential it might garner.

"Nice jacket, dude," she pushed, as she cleared her throat preemptively.

"Hey, thanks," he smiled, and fiddled with the zipper on his sleeve. "You really think so? I got this pretty lady on sale at the Wilson Leather over the weekend. You know the outdoor mall past the strip downtown?"

The brunette eyed him carefully. His smile was so big it was hard to not overlook. Her eyes caught the dark growth under his chin and above his lips. _The peach fuzz is making a debut, as well, folks._ A chuckle pushed its way out. "Who calls their jacket 'lady?'" She tilted her head in the direction of Mark Jefferson's room; he followed with a crooked smile. "I mean, I've heard of ships being referred to as women. The sea. Countries. Honestly, anything because women are magical, but never a jacket."

A nervous laugh. "Well, ladies are pretty badass so I thought it seemed fitting. Unless you find it offensive—in that case I'm sorry and won't do it again." His voice caught in his throat. Max adjusted the strap of her messenger bag on her shoulder and playfully knocked her weight into Warren's arm. He looked down and rubbed the back of his head with a shy smirk.

"Chill out, dude. I'm totally just trying to make conversation with you is all. I guess I'm just tired...I don't know." They rounded the corner and stopped short of entering Jefferson's class. Students were filing in past them. Max watched as they went by vaguely intrigued, until it dawned on her that she never found a photo to submit for the Everyday Heroes Contest. Panic set in.

 _What the fuck am I going to do? Jefferson is going to destroy me. Fuck._

"Max, did you hear what I said?"

"Wh-What?"

Warren leaned in with a nervous smile and she gaped at the difference in height. Since when was he so much taller than her? The guy always had a few inches on her, but now it was more like half of an entire foot. And when did he cut his hair? He's been changing so much, and she has been too caught up to even notice.

 _I'm a bad friend._

"I asked if you wanted to go to the drive-in with me this Saturday, um, they're doing a double screening of _Cannibal Holocaust_ and _Cannibal Mosh-Pit_ at the show up in Genisburg." He moistened his lips and flashed another smile. "Wanna go t-together? I mean, if you wouldn't mind. I know you've had, uh, a lot going on recently and I know you could use a break."

She noticed the flush in his cheeks and neck. _He's seriously asking me out on a date right fucking now?_ Her eyebrow twitched up, as she thinned her lips thinned into a smile. _I don't have time for this._ "I'll text you and let you know," she said in a much harsher tone than intended, and brushed past him into class.

"Okay, sounds good," he called out awkwardly.

She waved back lacklusterly, ditched her bag at her desk, and made for the line that was slowly forming before Jefferson's desk. As students were turning in their pictures, few were trying to squeeze in some fragment of a conversation to get some quick feedback. Max rolled her eyes and began impatiently bouncing her pen between her fingers. An entire calendar year might as well have passed them at the rate the line was moving, but she finally next up...and also last. Great. Jefferson gave a scholarly smile to student passing along their photograph, before patting them on the back to send them off to their seat. The instant his eyes landed on her his entire face lit up.

"Max Caulfield," he adjusted the rim of his glasses with a practiced motion. "I'm glad to see you. So, let's see what you've got." He looked at her expectantly, a winning smile revealed itself. The brunette reciprocated the smile with an apologetic shrug. His face dropped. "You don't have it?" He lowered his voice by an entire octave. Max cautiously shook her head, as she sucked her lips into a thin line. "Why not?" His eyes were oppressive, causing her to drop her gaze towards the ground. " _Look_ —at me," he snapped in a controlled tone. She noticed that his voice was barely above a whisper, since it had no effect on the liveliness of the class. Her eyes shot up, wide and alert. "Speak."

"I—" Max was out of breath. Her heart felt as if it was drilling a hole in her chest. "I-I—" She fumbled again.

"See me after class. Bring your lunch." Jefferson's voice and his eyes held no warmth as he spoke. She nodded awkwardly and wandered into her seat. Jefferson coughed into his fist comically gathering the attention of the class. "Before we begin, I'd like to thank those of you who dropped off your submissions for the Everyday Heroes Contest," he paused, scanning the room thoughtfully. "I know you all have been working very hard, and to be quite honest, I'm very impressed with the work you have submitted. So impressed, in fact, that I have a, uh, treat in store for you all…to express my gratitude." He lightly bounced forward on his toes, hands shoved into the crisp folds of his pockets. "As stated the previous week, I decided to actually go ahead and give extra credit for attending the next Vortex Club social. The Halloween Party they have coming up this Saturday to be exact."

A random student in the back began an unceremonious slow-clap which erupted in a scattered applause throughout the room. After clarifying a few key details, Jefferson carried on with the rest of class, and sweet baby corn did that lecture go by at neckbreak speed. At that very moment Max wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else. She practically gave herself carpal tunnel at the rate she was scribbling the last bit of notes into her notebook. Maybe she could sneak out while everyone was barraging Jefferson with questions? Or she could just die right there. At her desk. Honestly, the sweet void of release was becoming more of a viable option for her as the seconds shot forward.

"Don't forget, tomorrow I want a one thousand word essay from each of you on the importance of contemporary identity in the world of modern photography. And don't even think about broad stroking it, either. I want the nature of representation, people. Not some uneducated opinion on how abstract and cool it looks." Jefferson began erasing the notes on the white board in calculated strokes. "If you are struggling with inspiration on the matter, perhaps revisiting the readings on Cindy Sherman would be a good place to start." He did a once over of the board, removing stray markings in his wake, and pivoted around with the outline of a smile. "Class dismissed, except for Max Caulfield. See me now, please." He crossed to his desk, while the rest of the class began packing up preparing for lunch. As the last student was leaving, Max slowly made her way to the front of the room. "The door." His voice sent a shiver down her spine.

 _Why didn't I take that stupid picture?_

She quickly shut the door and returned. He stood mechanically leafing through an open book on his desk in a detached manner, only to look up after she began to visibly fidget. He straightened the lining of his vest, tugging at the hem in a supervised manner. "You disappointed me today."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson," her hands were trembling at her sides. "I kn-know there is no excuse for this, but I wasn't able to—."

"No. There are no excuses for utter negligence. I expected this sort of stunt from the underachievers of my class, but not you." Disdain edged his voice. "Absolutely unacceptable," he muttered.

Max felt desperation leap from the depths of her soul. The acceleration of which left her nauseous, causing her to slightly double over with the only barrier being arms wrapped around her to salvage any remaining comfort. Her vision hazed. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Jefferson. I really am. Is-Is there anything I can do to make this better. I will do any-anything. I'm…so sorry," her voice quivered with self-reproach.

He stared down his nose at her, the shimmer of his glasses gone allowing her to see the contempt that rooted itself in the pit of his eyes. It took everything inside of the brunette to not break under under his gaze, but she managed somehow. Then, as if a switch flicked on, his eyes softened. "You have until the end of the day to get me something." Although he didn't smile, the callous in his voice was gone. "Do you think you can do that, Max?"

"Yes," she blurted out with so much force that it practically knocked the wind out of her.

"Good," he nodded. "Then, off you go." With that, Max made a swift pass for the door. Just as she was pushing it open, Jefferson called after her in a reserved tone. "And, Max," she met his gaze over her shoulder. "Don't ever disappoint me, again."

"I won't," she replied, and carried herself down the hall with a burst of energy she never knew she possessed.

Courtney Wagner sat perched on a weathered log watching her blue eyed friend with a concerned eye. She watched as Max frantically paced back and forth setting up fallen twigs and leaves around an old well that sits in the thicket surrounding campus.

"Max, why did you bring me here?" The fashionista inquired, as she swatted a bug away from her face.

"I told you, Courtney, I can't explain it right now, but believe me when I say that this is a matter of extreme importance." The brunette rounded the well, before squatting down and framing it with her Polaroid. She smiled into the shot. "Perfect," she breathed. "Okay," she stood up and motioned Courtney over to the well. "So, what I need you to do is to go sit at the edge and I'll go over and 'help' you up. It'll just be a picture of my hand pulling you up, while the shot is framed around you."

The other woman bit her lip quizzically. "Okay, what is this even for? And why couldn't this wait until after school when the natural lighting would be better? Is this about Jefferson calling you out in class?"

Max dragged her palm over the back of her neck in an exasperated manner. "Courtney, I fucked up, okay? I didn't submit my photo for the Everyday Heroes Contest on time, and Jefferson was somehow was lenient enough to give me until the end of the day to get it done."

Courtney paused, considering her words. "I hear you loud and clear, Max, but taking a picture of you helping me get out of a well does not even touch on what the contest is even about. It's about showing how anyone can be a hero without doing something that's conventionally considered 'heroic,' you know? I submitted my photo a while ago, but it was like a picture of my nana holding my little brother. It's nothing crazy, but my nana's a hero to me." She had a thoughtful smile.

"I—actually didn't think about it like that," Max sighed. She shoved her camera into her messenger bag. "Only twenty minutes left before lunch is over, and I am officially screwed. Jefferson will literally murder me, and my gravestone will be completely blank, because I've never accomplished anything worth mentioning." She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and gave the other woman a defeated smile. "This sucks ass," she mumbled under her breath.

Courtney caringly looped her arm through Max's and led her back towards campus. She gingerly rubbed the length of her arm. "What kind of friend would I be to leave you spiraling like this?" She offered the brunette a smile, who meekly reciprocated. "How about I stay with you to figure this thing out until lunch is over, huh?"

Max shrugged her shoulders with a slight shake of her head. "That's very sweet of you Court, but it's not nearly enough time. You might as well go get some food while you still can—"

"Nonsense," the dark haired beauty chimed with a lighthearted chuckle. "I don't eat lunch like that, anyway. We're _going_ to figure this out, and everything will be okay. You'll see." She led Max through the main entrance, their arms still locked together. Max looked over to the other woman and smiled. She had no idea Courtney was so optimistic.

They passed the cafeteria and wandered down the Mathematics Hall. Courtney was telling her about something foolish Taylor did, when she noticed someone down the hall. It was an old man, who appeared to be in his seventies, mopping up a spill that encompassed an entire row of lockers. She watched as students paid the man no mind and carried on with their lives walking through the spillage, causing him to stop every so often. What was so captivating about it was that he didn't seem bothered one bit; he was at peace. The brunette quickly tugged at her friend's arm and pulled out her Polaroid from her bag. Courtney was confused for a moment, but smiled softly once she caught on. After a skillful framing of the shot, Max gently pressed down on the shutter and released a sigh of relief at the sound of a photo being processed through.

"I found my hero," she said, her smile broadened.

The fashionista wrapped her arm around the brunette's shoulders with a genuine smile gracing her lips. "I told you so," she said and playfully leaned in, causing the other to lose balance.

Max walked Courtney back to the cafeteria giving her two bear hugs, before making haste back to Jefferson's class. He sat at his desk thoughtfully sipping a cup of coffee lost in the pages of a book. She watched him for a moment, completely disillusioned by his presence. How can someone so charming and handsome be so cold and disarming at the drop of a hat? She almost compared the sudden change of behavior to Nathan Prescott, but quickly dismissed the idea. _Nathan's a monster, while Jefferson is just...more particular._ At that moment, Jefferson's head snapped towards the door. Max felt the blood drain from her body. She couldn't decide if she was embarrassed or terrified. It was probably safe to say both. He returned focus to his book and took another sip of coffee.

"Time is of the essence, Max," he said curtly into his mug, before pulling another sip. She flung open the door and rushed in; the photo pinched between her fingers as delicately as her nerves could manage. She placed the photo cautiously on his desk and stepped back. He pulled away from his book and glanced over the photo, the ghost of a smile teased the corners of his mouth. His dark eyes flickered. "Well done, Max." His tone held the slightest note of praise, but Max basked in it as if he were the sun itself. "This is the quality of work I expect from you," he placed his mug on the glass coaster edging a row of books on his desk. "So, why the janitor?"

"Oh, um, I guess I mainly liked the energy he gave off..? Like, even though those kids kept getting in his way, but he was so unbothered and at peace," she looked down, smiling to herself. "To be in such a state of peace regardless of what's going around you, that's what I find truly heroic. Not everyone can do that. I know I can't."

Jefferson remained silent, staring at her in such a way that it felt invasive. As if he were searching the depths of her soul. "Are you going to the Halloween social this Saturday for the extra credit opportunity?" He finally asked. His eyes held a note of amusement.

A muted response gripped her in the preemptive opening of her mouth. _Where did that question even come from?_ "Uhm, I actually wasn't planning on going to any parties for a while," she smiled coyly. "But, I especially can't go to this one, because I—I have date plans, uh, this Saturday."

Jefferson swiveled in his chair to face her and crossed his leg letting his ankle rest on his thigh, designer socks revealed themselves beneath the coif of his pants. "Well, that's too bad. Maybe next time."

"Maybe," her anxiety climbed.

He exhaled a chuckle through his nose and returned focus to his book. "That'll be all."

 **Kate** : Are you in your room? I need to tell you something… :/ (6:18 PM)

 **Max** : I'm just wrapping up in the shower i'll b right out. Everything okay? (6:25 PM)

 **Kate** : No. (6:25 PM)

Max was still running her towel through her hair, as she made her way down the hall back to her room. She rounded the corner and noticed her small friend leaning adjacent to the door, ear buds popped in while she idly scrolled through an app on her phone. Max's pace quickened.

"Hey, I'm sorry it took me so long I was in the shower when you texted me. Were you waiting long?" She pulled out her card and unlocked the door, motioning the other woman inside after flicking on the light. Kate closed the door behind them and carefully pulled out her earbuds. Everything from her posture to the way her eyes seemed to wander all over the room set off alarm bells. The brunette thought on her feet, pulling Kate to the bed to sit down, and tucking a few pillows that were scattered across the bed around her to form a makeshift barrier. She remembered Kate doing it on a few occasions to calm herself down after becoming upset or too stressed out. She could tell it was helping by the other woman finally relaxed her shoulders. "Please tell me what's going on." She was rubbing small circles on her Kate's back, but stopped when the small blonde leaned from her touch to look at her.

 _Why is she looking at me like that?_

"I forgot to tell you about something that happened the night Zach...assaulted you." Kate had her eyes cast to the floor, hands tucked under her thighs.

"What about it?"

Kate shifted uncomfortably on the bed, before turning to face her, teeth subtly teasing her bottom lip. "Remember when I told you that Dana Ward was the one who brought you back to your room after everything?" The brunette nodded, only to quickly negate the action with a scoff.

"I actually asked Dana about that days ago, and she said that she was out of town while the party was going on." Max looked down thoughtfully, before fixing her gaze on her friend whose eyes were still averted. "So, if Dana didn't walk me back then…?" she trailed off. Her eyebrows harshly knitted together.

"...I lied about that," Kate finally said.

"Clearly."

"Don't—" she wiped her hands down her face, before taking a deep breath that was immediately released. She tucked her foot under her, leaving the other to hang over the edge. "It was late when I woke up with the sudden urge to use the restroom. I had three cups of tea that night, topped off with a _full mug_ of hot cocoa," her eyes widened to emphasize the oddity of the event. "I was just so swamped with coursework that I had a difficult time trying to _manage_ —."

"Kate—seriously?"

"S-Sorry," the dirty blonde lowered her head and threaded the sleeves of her wool sweater together. "Anyway, as I was leaving the restroom—heading back to my room—when I stopped at my door and turned around because I left my key card on the sink. When I left the bathroom and was heading back to my room, I saw Victoria Chase... leaving your room." Kate was now hunched forward with her hands cradled awkwardly in a pillow she dragged on her lap. Max didn't think she had it in her to be caught off guard in such a way that sent her anxiety railroading into the irrational void of her mind, but there she was. It was the obnoxious vibrating of her phone from her nightstand that disrupted this unwelcomed retreat.

"W-What was she doing there?"

"That's what I asked her," Kate breathed. "At first she was startled by my presence, but all that went away in an instant. It was weird, because she just stared at me before shushing me with a finger to her lips and going back outside." Kate pulled the sleeves of her sweater to her elbows, and began fiddling with the watch that adorned her wrist. She peered at her blue eyed friend with acute worry. "I didn't know what it meant, but I decided not to tell you because I didn't know if she was actually threatening me. Or I don't know she was probably just really drunk. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Max. Are...Are you okay?" She brought Max's hands into her own, and began stroking them gently. "Max," she called out again.

"Yeah, I'm here." The brunette responded vacantly. She removed her hands from her friend's grip and cleared her throat. "Yeah," she repeated, swallowing harshly. "I'm alright." It wasn't a complete lie, though. The truth was that she wanted to be alright. She just wasn't at the moment. Max rose to her feet and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. Anything in that moment that could pull her mind from her current situation was a welcomed one. It was all becoming entirely too convoluted now. She kept things from Kate, and now Kate was keeping things from her.

 _Well she was. Maybe I should 'fess up, too..?_

It all made her head ache even more. She dragged a hand across her forehead and unlocked her phone.

 **Four Unread Messages.**

 **Courtney** : Sooo what did Jefferson say about your photo? (6:48 PM)

 **Courtney** : Lol I just told Taylor and she says she wants to get something for u to celebrate. Honestly don't accept because it might be a weird sexual thing (6:50 PM)

 **Courtney** : Hah jk she's just going to get you LIT at the Halloween party...unless u prefer the sex thing lmfao (6:51 PM)

 **Courtney** : wait I forget r u going 2 the party? Also my b for blowing u up .lol not really. (6:51 PM)

Max couldn't help the dry chuckle that broke from chest, as she reread the messages with a faint smile. She pulled up the keyboard to reply.

"Who's that from?" Kate asked, still crunched between the barrier of pillows hugging the one on her lap. Although she was trying to give off the contrary, she still looked worried from their conversation. Which makes total sense, because she has been in complete darkness regarding the depth of her best friend's involvement with the Vortex Club. Honestly, anyone who was stuck in her predicament would behave in a similar manner. Was it unfair for her to keep so much from her best friend? "Max?" Her voice was softer this time.

Max drummed her thumbs off the keyboard doing her best to keep her emotions reeled in by feigning disinterest. "Oh, that was just a friend asking me about how my thing with Jefferson went." She slid the phone in the pocket of her pj pants and wandered over to the kitchenette.

"Since when did you have friends?" Kate joked. Her smile thinned into a line when the brunette responded with an absent shrug.

"Since I have to interact with people, I guess." She winced almost immediately at her terse response, and felt as the air in the room began to fill with tension. _I shouldn't have said it like that._ Max pinched her eyes shut momentarily; the aching in her head pushing her even closer to the edge. It's almost like she has been a different person since everything went down with Zach. She just couldn't seem to get a grip, and now she was taking it out on Kate. Again.

Kate watched with vague interest as the brunette fiddled with a box of premade Mac n Cheese before popping one of the containers into the microwave. "What's happening to us?" She finally said, the question felt rhetorical, but Max knew that an answer was expected. The prepackaged meal began to fill the room with smell of processed cheese. "Max?" Kate's tone flexed at the prolonged silence.

Max jumped at her name, and finally stopped her busy movements to look directly at her friend. "I don't know," she said quietly. She pulled her meal from the microwave only to stare at it. Her appetite had all but evaporated. "I don't want to lie to you, Kate, but I can't tell you everything that's going on."

"What kind of answer is that?"

Max felt herself becoming small under the shorter woman's biting gaze. A rift had torn between them, and there was nothing she could do to keep it from completely ruining them.

"It's complicated," the brunette uttered, almost as if to herself.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that there's more to the story that you don't understand." Her hands began to tremble.

"Then, please enlighten me."

"I can't."

A cynical scoff. "Why can't you?"

"Because, I don't think you understand how dangerous all of this is."

At that, the short blonde was up on her feet and glaring up at the other woman. Her eyes were raw with emotion, yet a tear never surfaced. "How about you explain to me why it is so dangerous, and I will let you know _myself_. But, don't just keep something from me, because you think i can't handle it. Do you know how insulting that is? Especially from someone you care about?" As she spoke, the assertive tone of her voice didn't even match the fragile shell of her body. It was uncanny.

Max looked down at her friend. Soft brown eyes almost completely black in the warm lighting, and the tiny bags that hammoked just below them. This was having a far greater impact than she thought. "I can't tell you," she breathed, turning away. Her eyes darted up to the awful poster that laid on the ceiling above her bed. Anything to pull her thoughts from the rising tension between she and her best friend.

 _I hate today. I wish I wasn't here._

Kate blocked her line of sight, a frown disgracing her countenance. "Why can't you tell me, Max?"

Her patience was now on a thread. She couldn't explain why she couldn't explain, and it only made her anxiety double over at an alarming rate. She didn't want to do this today. It was too much. She could see that Kate was talking to her, but was unable to hear a word of it. The moment her friend gestured her hands angrily in the air, Max snapped. "I can't tell you, because you're too sensitive okay?! If it's too much for me, how intense and messed up do you think it would be for you? I can't tell you certain stuff, because I don't want you judging me like everyone else. You're super religious, a-and I would just die—"

"What does my religion—of all things—have anything to do with how I am able to support and care for my best friend? And fragile—?!" The other woman stepped back and threw up her hands carelessly. She smiled ironically. "Was I fragile every time I was by your side when you or both of us were being bullied? Or when Nathan tried to _buy_ you from me to do God knows what? I don't believe this." Her smile broadened, as tears filled her eyes.

Max opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a deflated laugh.

"No, no. And for you to mention my religion—is it because of the homophobia thing? Because, I literally told you that does not align with _my_ values and beliefs. I'm not just some affect in a religious cult who believes everything I'm told. _No_. I understand that the world is bigger than myself and my religion. But for you to stand there and essentially say that you don't trust me." She paused, stepping away to wipe her eyes, before turning back to meet the broken gaze of the other woman. "Why be friends with me in the first place?"

Max stood frozen. The tears carving down her face, blurred her vision. All she could do was watch completely powerless, as her once bubbly and lively best friend gathered her things and made for the door. She paused, and turned to face the brunette. The painful events of the year reflected in her doe like eyes. She wetted her lips and opened them to speak, but decided against it leaving instead. Max stared at the door, motionless, soundless, as tears poured from her eyes.

How was someone supposed to react to something they never imagined could ever be a possibility?

She pulled out her phone.

 **8:26 PM.**

A New Text From Courtney.

 **Courtney** : Aw, dude that sucks that ur not going to the party. Nothing I can do to change ur mind huh? (7:01 PM)

 **Max** : Can I come over to drink? (8:27 PM)

 **Courtney** : Yeah of course, dude. Perfect timing anyway because Taylor and I have been drinking for hours kick (8:30 PM)

 **Courtney** : hours *lol (8:30 PM)

 **Max** : Awesome. i'll be over shortly (8:31 PM)

The sharp ringing of the bell indicating the end of the first period made the brunette feel as if her head was being split in two. The heavy drinking she indulged in last night with Taylor and Courtney exacerbated the daily migraine that usually accompanies her through the first half of classes. Max slapped her textbook closed and staggered out into the hall towards her Jefferson's class with a yawn on her lips. God, how she longed for cup a coffee to carry her through the rest of the day.

 _Or I could just skip class. I'm ahead, anyway._

A tired smirk traced her lips, only to recede into a thin line. She gave a faint shake of her head and lolled it back with a sigh.

 _You know you're too much of a goody-two-shoes to even think about skipping._

Once at her locker, Max tripped awkward fingers against the combination lock finally succeeding on her third attempt. After exchanging a few supplies and grabbing a healthy dose of pain relievers, she clicked it shut and propped her head against it. It felt as if every molecule in her body were vibrating.

"Hey, Max, what's going on? Everything okay?" The brunette turned to see Taylor Christensen, genuine concern drawn on her face. Courtney stood close by, but was apparently on the phone with someone. She offered a quick wave before walking off. Max gave Taylor a tired smile and nodded. She sighed, relieved. "Dude, you look wrecked," she said with a smile. "How many shots did you take last night? I stopped counting after my third one." She playfully grabbed Max by the shoulders and redirected her to class.

"Would it be bad if I told you that I also didn't keep count?" Max looked over her shoulder with what should have been a playful grin, but was more akin to a wince. The long haired blonde exaggerated her features into that of disgust, causing them both to laugh.

"Literally never smile at me again," she joked. Just as they were entering the classroom, Max caught the soft profile of Victoria Chase who seemed to be preoccupied with something in her purse. Forgetting everything she once knew about legs and how they worked, Max turned on her heel with such vigor that she slammed directly into the wall behind her. It's anyone's guess, but a betting man would believe that she was trying to leave the classroom. Taylor surprised the shorter woman with her quick response time, catching her just as she stumbled back to orient herself. She would have been impressed, as well, if it wasn't for the bout of gagged laughter that followed. "Aw little Max, my sweet bird. Are you okay?" She locked her in a hug. Max jabbed her in the belly button, causing the long haired blonde to recoil. "That's the last time I save you from _any_ wall, kid." She held her tummy and went over to her desk, then paused to flash a silly grin over her shoulder.

Max rolled her eyes with a smile. "I think I can live with that," she said to herself.

Just then, Courtney entered the room making haste to Jefferson's desk. "Hey, Court—" Max's greeting was clipped by the air of urgency that followed just behind her. After a quick exchange with Jefferson, she returned to her desk. Nothing about the fashionista sent off any alarms, but it certainly piqued Max's curiosity.

She looked over her shoulder and glanced at Courtney, who appeared to be engrossed in a conversation with the Queen Bee herself. A sinking sensation rooted itself in the pit of her stomach. She drew her lip between her teeth. The bright loading screen from the smart board pulled her attention, as Jefferson made his way to the front of the room. A powerpoint slide covering photography's influence on impressionism just behind him.

"Alright, I hope you all did your assigned reading last night, because we have a pop quiz," there were a few scattered groans in response, but he only held up a hand and continued. "There are only three questions, but the kicker is they're all extended essay and worth a lot of points." As he passed Max he placed a quiz on her desk face down. "Since, I'm not a monster, but a pretty cool guy, there is a prize. Whoever gets the highest grade will be awarded a special gift from me at the Halloween Party this Saturday, which isn't a bad deal at all folks." Once he finished handing out the last quiz, he made his way back to the front of the room and gave the order to begin. Max quickly scanned the questions and couldn't stop the smile that broke across her face. It was almost too easy. The minutes ticked by, and Max could feel her hand begin to cramp up but she worked through it. After stabbing a period at the end of her last sentence, she flipped the quiz back over and sat back. She was practically beaming. She quietly scanned the room and saw that a few others had finished before her, but it didn't matter she felt good.

As class drew to a close, a smile was still light on her lips as she began consolidating the notes, so the sharp knocking on her desk that followed almost gave her a heart attack. It was Jefferson. He gave her an award winning smile, before looking up to address the class.

"Class, before you all head out, I just wanted to announce that Max is the winner, and even though you didn't win you are all winners to me." He glanced back down at her through his rimmed glasses, 'No, they're not' he mouthed with a quick wink. Max didn't even know how to respond to any of it.

She didn't want the stupid prize. She didn't even want to go to the party. She chanced a glance at the exit wondering if she should just make a break for it, daming the consequences. But, Jefferson was literally right in front of her, and there were like a million other students trying to leave at the same time; she'd never make it out fast enough. A deep sigh filtered from her, leaving in a wisp, much like her fantasy of escaping. Jefferson had already moved on to the back of the class to speak with another student. She reluctantly walked over and stood just out of ear shot.

It took long enough, but Jefferson finally turned around and greeted her with an apparasing smile. Praise being her Achilles heel, she beamed; unintentionally soaking it all up.

"What do you need, Max?"

"Um, I actually wanted to talk to you about the Halloween Party," she fidgeted as she spoke and dropped her gaze to her feet, but forced herself to bring them back up. "I don't know if you remember, but I actually can't go to the party. I have a—-have a," without even meaning to her voice fell. In a moment's notice Jefferson's dark eyes which held the aroma of a morning's cup of coffee were now kindred to an endless winter on the cloudiest of days. Right at that instant Max felt like the most foolish person in the entire world. Unsure of what to do with her hands, they just sat lifeless at her sides.

He cocked his head imperceptibly. "Are you sure?"

 _That wasn't a question._

Her hands found the strap of her messenger bag and hung on for dear life. If she let go she just knew that she would disappear. Her mouth fell open.

"I can actually go," she said softly. Max wasn't even looking at Jefferson at this point. She didn't need to. His presence was uncanny.

"Oh, that's good. I'll see you then."

When he didn't move, Max begrudging looked up. His eyes were like a starless night. Her head lolled forward in a nod, and he smiled at her. It was a real smile.

"Off you go, then."

And off she went.

Warren had picked her up an hour ago. She wasn't exactly sure how she ended up going with him on an actual real date, but there she was—-on a date with someone she felt was more family to her than her actual siblings. Weird wouldn't even begin to explain the feeling that had guided her to the "juice" bowl, but it was certainly a word that she wouldn't disagree with. Warren gave her a concerned side glance cloaked in humour.

 _That's right. Drinking. He doesn't know it's a thing I do now._

She passed him her cup and it was clear that he was at a loss for words.

"You look pretty confused, pal," she half-shouted over the music. It was so loud she felt the bass in her chest.

"Yeah, I—-I didn't know you drank. Like, when did that even start?" He was considerably leaned over as he responded by yelling directly in her ear. She will never not be surprised by how puberty just slammed into this dude.

"Does it honestly matter?" She shouted back, before pulling away and bringing the drink to her lips with a shrug. Warren stood for a second, looking a bit uncomfortable with his surroundings, before she pulled him back down by the collar of his costume and shouted, "Just carpe-those-fucking-diems" and let go. He looked down at her and the tint of a smile revealed itself. 'Okay,' he mouthed before giving a carefree shrug of his own and bringing their plastic cups together in toast. He downed his in no time at all, and when the brunette stopped to consider how the night took a bizarre turn, she was too drunk to even give it much thought.

The music was starting to sound and feel good, as the bass rocked in her chest. With the passing of each song her rhythm improved, as her insecurities melted away with each drink. Warren grew bolder, as well. With each song he danced a little closer, but refused to touch her directly. Max was well aware, and did her best to keep it as platonic and lighthearted as possible. Nothing would kill a mood faster than Max telling her best friend that each and every one of his romantic advances made her want to vomit until there was nothing left, because she saw him as the brother she never had or wanted. It would not only kill the mood, but also be kind of devastating for him, too. She could just drink more, ignore it, and have fun, right?

After practically breaking her voice trying to sing along with _Bohemian Rhapsody_ , Max excused herself and staggered towards the restrooms. She audibly groaned at the small line that formed along the wall, as she stalked over. There was someone just before her that was standing in such a way that she wasn't quite sure if they were in line or not, and it annoyed the shit out of her. While in her brave drunken stupor, she intimately leaned in between the girl and phone and made direct eye contact. Or at least she thought she did, the person was wearing a plastic white mask with 'GOD' written on the forehead in permanent marker and drawn in eyebrows.

"Hey, are you line or what?" She barked over the music. _This Is Halloween_ by Maryiln Manson droned in the background.

The girl snapped her attention up toward the brunette, "What the fuck does it look like?" She snapped.

"Well, if it looked like you were in line I wouldn't be _ducking_ asking, now would I?" Max felt sassy as fuck and loved it.

The girl seemed taken aback, as she began to lift her mask. "Wait, Max Caulfield?"

"How do you know—-" she choked on the saliva at the back of her throat and began coughing wildly. Victoria Chase stood before her with furrowed brows. A light mist of sweat covered her face causing her skin to glow from the harsh lighting in the restrooms and Max couldn't breathe. Victoria put a hand her back and began patting it firmly.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she gasped, stepping back a few paces. Some would call it "retreating," but you know, semantics, whatever. The tall blonde watched with an amused glint in her eye, as Max regained her composure. A chuckle escaped her nose. "And just what is so damn funny?" Max still felt sassy.

"You," she said. Another chuckle. "I don't see you for days, and when I finally do you're drunk and ballsy as shit. I don't have to be a mathematician to know that the odds of this ever happening are extremely few and far between." She leaned against the wall and tucked her phone in her back pocket. Her darkened eyes snaked the length of her body. Max felt her face heat up. "Chihiro?" She asked, threaded eyebrow cocked.

"What?"

"Your costume? The pink kimono with the white ribbon crossing your back? I mean, you even have the maroon cloth tied perfectly around your waste. You're Chihiro from Spirited Away, right?"

Max gave herself a once over, before returning with an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, I'm Chihiro, I'm just surprised that you even know." A nervous chuckle. "You know?" Victoria ran her tongue over her lips and gave a slight shake of her head with a smile. It was genuine.

"I guess that's no surprise," she readjusted the mask that sat atop her head. "The only people who really know me in the area are T and Courtney. But, yeah I grew up watching all of Miyazaki's films. I'm actually kind of obsessed with him," she said with a chuckle, as she quickly averted her eyes. Cheeks becoming a shade of soft pink. It made the brunette smile harder than she ever has in her entire life. "You're a loser."

"Who are you supposed to be, anyway? That mask is creepy as hell."

"Oh, have you seen The Purge 2? I'm that guy who stalked that couple and tried to kill them," she waved it off with an elegant laugh. "It's actually pretty funny, because I ran into your not-girlfriend and she gave me the biggest stink eye ever. I didn't even know she was capable of such a thing."

"Wait, you saw Kate?"

"Yeah, in all of her glory. Set up way on the other end of the auditorium trying to get people to sign up for some bible thing or other." She light scratched her eyebrow as she chuckled. "Funny stuff, that."

Max looked out into the party. "Yeah, that's pretty weird. I forgot she said she was going to be here. She didn't even text me, though." She looked back to see jade stones staring at her with intention. "What?"

"Trouble in paradise?"

A halfhearted puff of a chuckle. "There is no paradise," she trailed off.

Victoria picked up on the mood shift, and quickly changed the subject without missing a beat. "Speaking of 'paradise' T was actually trying to get me and Court to go as characters from Up with her. You know the chubby kid and the old man trying to get to that Paradise Falls place?" Max had an involuntary smirk on her lips. "Yeah. Exactly. No way in Satan's glorious kingdom was I going as anyone from that damn movie, so I told T she should dress up as that bird, Kevin, and go throw herself off the roof of a building." It wasn't what Victoria said, exactly, but it was the serious way that she said it that caused Max to split at the seams with genuine laughter. It was just too ridiculous and she couldn't hold it in. Victoria watched her with the outline of a smile and her shoulders began to bounce with laughter, too. "Yeah, since that was out the window, I had no idea what I wanted to be and this was the cheapest costume I could think of."

"I wouldn't peg you for going with a cheap costume. Aren't you, like, rich?" She was still recovering from the laugh, but it soon cleared up, as saw the glimmer of sadness that flicked across the blonde's soft features.

"Unfortunately," she said vacantly and fell silent. Max felt a heaviness in her chest as a wave of discomfort washed over her. Victoria remained leaning against the wall and stared out into party, before turning back to the shorter woman. "Were you able to get some rest that night?"

"Huh?"

"After you fell asleep in my bed Sunday night, were you able to get some rest?" She had a despondent air about her as she spoke. Max almost couldn't hear her over the music.

"I did," she answered. "But—But, where did you go?" Even though the question had been sitting in wait at the back of her mind for the past week, she definitely had no intention of asking the Queen Bee. But, she was too drunk to filter herself.

Victoria stared at her in silence for a few moments, and in her embolden state Max stared back. She only wore a black silk V cut sleeveless blouse and denim skinny jeans with a pair of classic white Adidas. An ensemble that would barely give her cause to notice anyone else, but now leaving her practically speechless.

 _I wonder if Victoria knows just how beautiful she actually is._

Her lips parted to inquire just that, but she was cut off.

"I had to find someone," the blonde said simply. She was no longer looking at Max, but staring off someone in her own mind. Whoever this person was, they meant _something_ to her.

"Who?" The word just tumbled from her lips without warning.

Victoria pushed herself from the wall and gave her an indecipherable look, before they were interrupted.

"Everything okay here, Max?"

It was Warren. He stood tall with his shoulders squared and only close enough to the brunette to display just how protective he was of her without directly invading her personal space. It all happened a bit too suddenly for her liking, and she unintentionally stepped away from him and towards Victoria, who just looked up at him with such disinterest it made her uncomfortable.

"Everything's fine, Warren," she yelled over the music.

He glanced over to Victoria, before returning his gaze. "Are you sure?"

She moved to speak, but the taller woman beat her to it. "Is there something stuck in those gigantic ears of yours? She said she's _fine_."

"I'm sorry, am I talking to you?" Warren turned to Victoria with a thin smile and pointed clasped hands in her direction. "No, I'm not. I'm talking to my date," he took a step towards Max who, once again, found herself in that familiar space of wondering what it would be like if she suddenly died.

"Oh, a date?" The blonde lifted her brows in such a way to elicit interest, but was actually intended to be read as blatant sarcasm. Max nodded slowly, knowing that there was no longer any light in her eyes, because the joy she previously felt just ejected itself from her body.

"Yeah, a date. But it's none of your business."

"But, you're making it my business by telling me. Thanks, by the way."

Warren positioned himself to make a snappy retort, but the brunette silenced him by putting her hand on his arm. He looked down at her surprised.

"Warren, I'm okay. _Really._ Victoria and I have been working our stuff out, and quite honestly, you're the one who's making things worse." His eyes rose in disbelief. He looked to the blonde and eyed her suspiciously, before running his hand over his neck; completely embarrassed.

"That...uh...wasn't my intention." He visibly swallowed. "I'm—-I'm sorry, Max."

She looked up at him and nodded reassuringly. "I accept your apology," she said. "I'll come find you after I'm done using the bathroom."

"Okay," he said, before slowly turning away and wandering back into the party.

Victoria watched him with a contemplative thumb gripping her chin. "I thought No Face wasn't supposed to talk," she said with a villainous smile.

Max went agape on the verge of reprimanding the blonde, only to curtail it with an impish grin of her own. "You're bad," she laughed.

Someone wearing a plain white t shirt that said 'notebook paper' walked out of the restroom, and motioned that the blonde was free to go next. She instead turned to Max.

"After you," she said politely.

Max was confused. "Aren't you next?" She asked.

With a smile like the sun itself, Victoria laughed shaking her head. "No," she breathed. "I actually wasn't in line. There's just better reception over here."

Max licked her lips, and returned the smile. Victoria watched the action with hungry eyes. "So, what? You were just giving me a hard time?"

The Reigning Queen of the Vortex Club gave easygoing shrug, "Pretty much," she smiled again, biting her lip.

Max felt something deep in her core ignite. "Do it again sometime," she replied with a seductive lilt in her voice. She was holding the bathroom door open with her thigh now, looking back at the taller woman, who eyed her like she was prey. The impatient glares and grunts of disapproval of those waiting behind her did nothing to sway her. She remained fixed, staring at the beautiful jewel only a few metres away. Victoria finally chuckled as she turned and slid her mask back on.

"Maybe I will," she said over her shoulder and disappeared into the party.

The music scratched off the record, and a familiar voice sounded throughout the auditorium.

"Good evening folks, we're going to have your party going strong again in a moment," an eruption of boos interrupted the djay. "Hey, shut the hell up. There's a quick announcement that needs to be made. Here, brother." He moved a few paces over and Mr. Jefferson stepped up into the booth with him and waved at the crowd.

He lightly grip the mic and leaned into it, he cleared his throat. "Mark Jefferson, here. I just wanted to say that I have the sign-in sheet for Photography 2500, and as promised everyone on it will receive a seven point boost on the next in class exam." Scattered cheers sounded from the crowd. He chuckled into the mic, "Yeah, it's great news. Last thing, though, I wanted to congratulate Max Caulfield on getting the highest grade on the pop quiz, and your gift will be joining me on a professional that I have coming up in a couple of weeks. It will be a great opportunity for you to gather some hands on experience, and network with some of the companies that will be there, as well." Some people in the crowd started to murmur, as Jefferson gave his regards to the djay and exited the booth.

"Alright, let's get back to it," the djay exclaimed and scratched a new song into the record. The crowd cheered and the party picked back up.

Max lagged behind the party, kind of just standing there as life resumed around her. Warren gave her a playful nudge with his arm and looked down at her. "That's actually huge, Mad Max. How does that even feel? I know I'd be stoked right now."

"Yeah," she heard him, but she wasn't actually listening.

"'Yeah?'" He mocked her demeanor with an upturned face. "That's your only response? You're only going to get a private up-close lesson with a famous photographer, who happens to also be your teacher. The fact that you aren't freaking out right now is freaking me out." He started laughing, as he danced awkwardly with the crowd.

The brunette watched him without really paying much attention. Warren was right. She should have been freaking out at the fact that she had just landed such an amazing opportunity to shadow someone she has so much respect for. But, she didn't feel that way in the slightest. The whole situation was surreal. She could not overlook how weirdly serious Jefferson had been for the past week. He was typically an easygoing and charming guy, but this past week he was so intense, and it put Max off entirely. She didn't even know how to feel about him, anymore. She also could not forget how she saw Nathan react to his authority first hand. It was ...weird as hell. Max excused herself for the restroom again, but this time disappeared to the otherside of the auditorium. People were packed on the dancefloor around the stage in preparation for the costume contest that was starting soon.

 _Oh, yeah. The costume contest._

Her eyes lit up at the sight of Taylor and Courtney dressed up as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. They looked great. She noticed how electric their on-stage presence was, as the crowd came to life in response to their banter. Max smiled to herself, and her eyes wandered to the other end of the auditorium where it promptly faded. Kate was sitting in a booth talking with another girl. A banner that was pinned just below said: No Tricks, Just Christ. Max visibly cringed, causing her nose to pinch tightly and her nostrils to flex. The sign was too bad for words, and yet she found herself walking toward it, anyway. She needed to speak with Kate; the tension between them was breaking her heart, and she just had to fix it. Rather than sitting in her usual high-bun, her cinnamon blonde hair was perched over her shoulder in a side ponytail. It was longer than she thought it would be down.

The brunette made her way closer, but froze when they made eye contact. Kate's eyes softened, before narrowing. She looked hurt. Max placed her hand over her chest and pinched at the fabric of her kimono. She took a step forward, but was rebuffed with a subtle shake of her friend's head; a warning. Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked them away with a show of looking around her. The rejection hurt, but she deserved it. She's been rejecting Kate this entire time. The other girl sitting next to her looked confused, but minded her own business. Kate turned to say something to her, but was distracted by something behind Max. She cautiously turned around, and saw Victoria walking toward her with her head in her phone and mask on her head. She had her Jimmy Choo handbag hanging elegantly from her shoulder. She glanced up from her phone, and did a double take before her face melted into an inviting smile. Max's heart lept in her chest.

"Hey, stranger," Victoria said, playfully colliding shoulders with the shorter woman.

Max stared at her with an open smile. "Hey, yourself. Where are you off to?"

"Bed," she quickly replied. "I'm over this party already." She pulled out her keys and balled them in her fist. Max shot a glance at the booth where Kate was sitting and saw the concoction of confusion, worry, and regret filter against her friend's face.

"Can I come with you?" The question lept from her, and left them both shocked. Her face might as well have been a tomato at this point. "Shit—-I mean, not—-God. Not, can I come with you to-to bEd. But...But can I have a ride…?"

She didn't even need to see her own face to know that she looked like a proper idiot right in that moment. Victoria's eyes were lidded, and a playful smile revealed itself on her full lips. "Yeah," she purred. "You can come."

A/N: Thank you so much for being patient with me! I've been really busy and had to go offline for a while (mainly bc I got a new phone, also I forgot to download tumblr and other stuff my b). I seriously love and appreciate all of the amazing comments I've been receiving! I usually respond the same day, but I haven't even been able to check recently. This chapter is fleshing out some new plot points to come in the future, as well as the new dynamic between Victoria and Max. I'm less anxious writing them together now (lmfao). I'm done babbling lol the next chapter will be out as soon as I can get around to, you guys know I don't like to rush anything. Soon, I'll need to get ready for my audition into graduate school, and I'm also going out of town to visit family for a couple weeks. That's just a quick update on my life, but I'll see all of your beautiful faces in the next chapter!

Sidenote: i have no idea what's going to happen until i start writing lmfao. There are few notes to keep me on mark, but I honestly don't know what's going to happen hahaha


End file.
